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Ricky Ponting had just completed the most significant Test victory of his 33-match reign and still he could not escape from his lowest moment as leader. The swift recovery to return Australia to the top of Ashes battles was exceptional, but it did not stop thoughts of England in 2005 and the loss that ultimately helped reinvigorate the side.Ponting was the first to bring up the England defeat and revealed the model for success in this series had been set up barely a week after they returned from The Oval. All of Australia’s contracted players were called to Melbourne for a meeting to dissect the mistakes of the campaign and their suggestions led to the appointment of more coaches, vows to improve preparation and a desire to make sure nobody could beat them.”That’s where all the cricket that we are playing now started,” Ponting said. “There was a burning passion in the boys to make themselves and the team better.”Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, was poached from the United Kingdom, the role of the fielding expert Mike Young was expanded and Richard McInnes, a full-time analyst, was added to the support staff. The upshot has been a side that did not make the critical errors that affected them in England and they have succeeded in the first three Tests.”We made a lot of mistakes last time and I couldn’t see this team making the same mistakes again,” Ponting said. “We haven’t made anywhere near as many in this series. Last time we bowled lots of no-balls, our fielding was sloppy and whenever we had partnerships we managed to lose a wicket and let England back into the game.”This time we haven’t done that. Once we’ve had a partnership going we’ve generally made it a big one. We just haven’t given England the opportunities to compete with us.”Andrew Flintoff’s side has winded Australia occasionally but not found a way to floor them and the series has been decided in 15 days. Ponting’s supreme batting, developing leadership and the squad’s meticulously researched field settings have been essential and he is determined not to ease up in Melbourne or Sydney.”We’re pretty satisfied at the moment and probably will be satisfied for the next few days,” he said. “But we want to win every game we play.” Since the Ashes they have been successful in 14 out of 15 games – the miss was a draw in Perth against South Africa – and they will start at the MCG on a 10-match streak.

The speed of the series being decided has been stunning but it has not surprised Ponting, who believes he is in charge of a side performing as well as they have for a “long time”. “For it to be over is a great result,” he said. “To watch how we played in each Test, then we’ve deserved to win in three.”Australia’s ageing side has been criticised for its Dad’s Army qualities and Ponting was disappointed with predictions from some former Test players who doubted their ability to re-claim the urn. Proving critics wrong has been a motivating factor over a number of years and it has been used successfully again.”The guys concerned have made it a mission of theirs to play a big part in the series,” Ponting said. “At different times they have been magnificent. I have no idea when they are retiring but hopefully it’s a long way off. I’ve played with some of them my whole career, so it would be a sad day.” Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were important figures in the match as Australia secured the 206-run victory and the screams of success could still be heard from the dressing room four hours after the game.Despite the high levels of celebration, Ponting was not concerned with Australia’s ability to refocus in a week in Melbourne. “I won’t be happy if we lose a Test here and I’m sure the other players are in the same boat,” he said. “With all the hurt that carried over from the last series, I’m sure they’ll prepare well.”

James Franklin, the New Zealand left-arm fast bowler, has signed for Glamorgan for the forthcoming season. Franklin, 25, will arrive in mid-May as a replacement for Michael Kasprowicz, following New Zealand’s tour of South Africa.”We are delighted that James is joining us,” John Derrick, the Glamorgan coach, told the team’s website. “His left-arm bowling will add extra variety to our attack, and he is coming over to Wales on the back of a highly successful season in New Zealand.”Franklin is well accustomed to the English season having played for Gloucestershire two seasons ago, where he took 7 for 60 on debut against Lancashire. He also featured in the Test and one-day series when New Zealand toured England in 2004 and, last month, captured eight wickets in New Zealand’s 2-0 drubbing of West Indies.”I have spoken several times in the past couple of weeks to John Bracewell, the coach of the New Zealand team,” Derrick added. “He has a very high regard for James` ability, both as a left-arm swing bowler and as a middle-order batsman. In fact, in John`s opinion, James could bat at number six in the future for New Zealand.”Franklin won’t be alone this season: he joins a host of compatriots including Andre Adams, Shane Bond, Daniel Vettori, Scott Styris, Hamish Marshall and his captain Stephen Fleming, all of whom have been signed up by other counties.

Indian batsman Virender Sehwag has said that teams can consistently post over 200 in Twenty20 matches if they are prepared to bat out 20 overs. Speaking ahead of the Indian team’s departure for the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, Sehwag said that teams tend to get the strategy wrong by going for quick runs early, often getting bowled out before the allotted quota of overs.”The plan should be to play out the full 20 overs,” Sehwag told PTI. “A score of 200 is on the cards if a team plays out the full quota. I have seen this happen often in England where I have played this format.”Sehwag was ignored for the tour of England owing to a loss of form. He spoke about how he had been preparing himself for the tournament, simulating the conditions the Indians would expect in South Africa, in terms of the pace and bounce of the wickets.”I have been doing yoga,” he said. “I want to control my game and aggression during the match days and hopefully I will do well. I have been practicing with synthetic balls on cement courts to get used to the bounce. I have also practiced against yorker-length balls as bowlers tend to get thrashed to all parts of the park. Therefore they are bound to resort to bowling yorkers and bouncers.”Sehwag added that the spinners will have an important role to play, taking the pace off the ball to make the batsmen check their strokes. “Hitting slower balls would not be easy and spinners have been successful in this game. I would also like to contribute with my offbreaks.”Commenting on the team composition, Sehwag said India’s lack of experience at the Twenty20 level shouldn’t count against them as a few members of India’s young squad had been exposed to the format in England. He captained India in its only Twenty20 international, against South Africa in Johannesburg last December and won.”Only five or six of us have not been playing but at this level one should be able to play in the tournament straightaway,” he said. “It’s good that youngsters are getting chances which will stand them in good stead when they have to assume bigger responsibilities.”

Uganda will be confident of putting the seal on the latest stage of their much-publicised progress up the world rankings when they meet Argentina in the final of the World Cricket League Division Three in Darwin on Saturday.While Uganda were expected to make the final, Argentina have proved the surprise package, especially considering that they lost their opening game to outsiders Italy. They squeezed through the group stages and then beat the fancied Cayman Islands in the semi-finals.Joel Olweny, Uganda’s captain, said that, despite his side’s unbeaten record in the tournament, his team remained wary of Argentina’s capabilities. “We respect Argentina as opponents because by qualifying for the final they’ve proved that they deserve to be where they are,” he said. “And we’re aware about their progress to the final so we won’t take them lightly and will try to be as clinical as possible.”Uganda go into the game as the favourites, and they have far more experience. Six of their squad played in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, and the team also participated in the 2005 ICC Trophy”It’s all about clicking together and producing a match-winning performance as we are neither short of experience at this level nor quality,” said Olweny. “I’m hoping that the batsmen will rise to the occasion and carry forward the good work done by the bowlers and fielders.”Argentina’s strength has been its bowling, with three of their team – Estaban MacDermott, Gary Savage and Diego Lord – in the top ten wicket takers.MacDermott said he hoped his bowlers will try to exploit any potential weaknesses in Uganda’s batting line up. “Our bowlers are in form and their batsmen are struggling. So it’s a straightforward strategy, I guess. But they have the experience of playing in big tournaments and have the ability to bounce back anytime,” he said. “We’ll give it our best shot in the final as we have nothing to lose. We have qualified for Division 2 and if we manage to win the final, it would be a perfect icing on the cake.”

Scorecard

The Eagles have reached back-to-back Standard Bank Cup finals with an exciting 34-run semi-final win at the Wanderers against a game Lions team who were bowled out for 229 in 42.2 overs.An 85-run partnership between Morne van Wyk and Ryan Bailey allowed the Eagles to post a good total of 263 for 6 in their 45 overs after being asked to bat first. The innings had started slowly on a good hard Wanderers pitch with Loots Bosman speeding things up with a quick 40before being bowled after facing 39 balls. The big partnership ended when van Wyk was well caught by Stephen Cook on the third man boundary for 86 and Bailey was cut short by a close run out. With a good platform set, Roger Telemachus pulled out the long handle hitting 31 off 15 balls and Dillon du Preez scored 13 off six balls as the Eagles scored 67 runs off the final six overs.The Lions innings stuttered along in bursts that slowly but surely put themselves further behind the required rate. Adam Bacher was first to go after scoring 48 in a 76-run opening partnership with Cook. Cook, the top run scorer in the competition, had just started to accelerate theinnings when he mistimed to mid-off for 71. Werner Coetsee tried to play one too many reverse sweeps to be bowled for 15. Vaughn van Jaarsveld was run out in a bizarre way with Telemachus, standing in front of the wickets, missing a return from the deep that deflected into the stumps to leave van Jaarsveld well short for 22. Dumisa Makalima had to take risks but was caught for nine while Friedel de Wet gave the home supporters some hope striking two fours before being bowled for 11 by Ryan McLaren giving him career best figures of 4 for 43.In the end the Lions allowed themselves to fall too far behind in the middle of the innings and paid the price with a loss in a season that promised such a lot.

The three-match one-day international series between Kenya and Bangladesh, originally set for Nairobi later this month, has been postponed by a further three weeks due to difficulty in raising funds to cover the costs of the trip.Cricket Kenya (CK) chief executive Tom Tikolo said they required about 13 million shillings (US$176,000) to host the Bangladeshi side, with half of the amount raised through television rights and the rest through sponsorship or Cricket Kenya.”We don’t have the money. But we are talking to a few sponsors,” said Tikolo. “We are still discussing with them and hopeful we will reach a deal within the next two weeks.”The series was initially scheduled for July 19, 21 and 23, but the matches will now be played on August 12, 13 and 15, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has since announced.Tikolo said CK had reached an agreement with the BCB to play the series in mid-August after Bangladesh complete their tour of Zimbabwe.However, he added Bangladesh would arrive in Kenya as scheduled on July 15 to hold their training and acclimatise for the five-match series against Zimbabwe which starts at Harare on July 29.

Auckland had New Zealand batsmen Lou Vincent and Scott Styris back in the side but it made no difference as the home team continued its abysmal form this season. Dismissed for a paltry 170, Auckland was never going to trouble Wellington, who cruised to an eight-wicket victory in 29.5 overs. Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, led the way with 66 not out, while young opener Jesse Ryder again impressed with 49. Michael Parlane continued his good season with 29 not out. In Auckland’s innings, again it was left to Rob Nicol, who has fought a lone hand this season, to salvage pride with 61. Mark Gillespie was the best of the Wellington bowlers with 3 for 21 off nine overs.Canterbury moved to the top of the State Shield table with their seven-wicket victory against strugglers Northern Districts. Northern posted a meagre 201 off 50 overs, with only Hamish Marshall (58) passing 50. Recently retired international Chris Cairns showed there was still life in the old dog with 3 for 45 off 10 overs. Canterbury were untroubled and cruised to victory in the 35th over. Craig McMillan experienced a welcome return to form with 88 not out while Shanan Stewart posted an unbeaten 44.

Ten players with Test experience have been included in a strong Pakistan A squad to take on Australia A in the first four-day match to be played at the Pindi Cricket Ground, which starts on September 11.Experienced players such as Mohammad Sami, Asim Kamal, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed and Shoaib Malik find a place in the 15-man squad. A further eight players who have Test experience are among the 12 reserves picked for the series, including Arshad Khan and Imran Farhat.For the Pakistani selectors, the series is crucial as it allows them not only an opportunity to test promising young players but also to provide established players with some vital match practice as preparation for the series against England from October.Pakistan’s coach Bob Woolmer is in charge of the A squad and he will be assisted by former national team manager Haroon Rashid. The national team trainers Grant Compton and Daryl Lifson are also working with the team.The second and final four-day match will be played from September 17 at the same venue, before the two teams move to Lahore for four one-day internationals.Pakistan A squad 1Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 2 Salman Butt, 3 Yasir Hameed, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Bazid Khan, 6 Asim Kamal, 7 Zulqarnain Haider (wk), 8 Imran Tahir, 9 Muhammad Sami, 10 Muhammad Asif, 11 Umar Gul, 12 Asher Zaidi, 13 Yasir Arafat, 14 Faisal Iqbal, 15 Muhammad Irshad.Reserves 1 Shahid Nazir, 2 Nomanullah, 3 Imran Farhat, 4 Mansoor Amjad, 5 Shahid Yousuf, 6 Yasir Ali, 7 Najaf Shah, 8 Muhammad Khalil, 9 Hasan Raza, 10 Taufeeq Umar, 11 Arshad Khan, 12 Rao Iftikhar Anjum.

Brett Lee will play his first match since the tour game at Mumbai five weeks ago against the New Zealanders at the SCG tomorrow.Lee, who spent the four Tests in India taking out the drinks or substitute fielding, appears likely to fill a similar role in the first Test at Brisbane on November 18. But Lee will get a run for New South Wales against the tourists, and is feeling fitter than ever after exhausting pre-season workouts in India.Simon Katich was expected to captain the side when he was left out of the Australian squad, but he withdrew after suffering a relapse of a virus he contracted in Mumbai. Brad Haddin will stand in as captain while Aaron O’Brien was recalled to replace Katich. Damian Wallace was dropped from the team that defeated Western Australia in the Pura Cup last week.New South Wales Brad Haddin (capt and wk), Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Phil Jaques, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Greg Mail, Stuart MacGill, Matthew Nicholson, Aaron O’Brien, Matthew Phelps, Dominic Thornely.

Ali Bacher, the man who did so much to introduce new technology into international cricket, has said that umpires should be allowed to use television replays to help them in making lbw decisions.In an interview with Mihir Bose in the Daily Telegraph, Bacher said that unless this was done, the authority of officials would continue to be eroded. “Umpires are increasingly being placed in unreasonable positions,” he explained. “They are, in a sense, competing against ever improving technology and are destined to fail. The limited advances in assisting the umpires have not, in my view, kept adequate pace with the growing sophistication of the technology.””Current legislation is placing umpires in an untenable position by not allowing them access to the same information as is readily available to the public. Media are in a position to determine more accurately the decision-making ability of an umpire.”My proposal seeks to permit the standing umpire to consult the TV replay umpire whenever he chooses on specific matters aimed at assisting him in arriving at the correct decision.”Bacher pointed out six scenarios where the umpire’s naked eye was not infallible. These included balls pitched fractionally outside leg stump and whether the ball struck the pad on or outside off stump.He concluded by saying that while he wanted more use of third officials watching television, he was not in favour of extending that to include using Hawkeye-type technology.Bacher has been increasingly vociferous in putting forward this argument, and on a recent trip to the West Indies he outlined his plans at the prestigious Sonny Ramadhin Memorial Lecture in Trinidad.