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Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield title defence against Queensland at the Gabba will now be shown on television after the pay television provider agreed to provide full coverage of the competition decider.As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the final was set to be played without full television coverage for the first time since 2007, as Fox Sports had decided the schedule was too packed to show the game.The greater number of outside broadcasts required by this summer’s Twenty20 Big Bash League and their attendant cost was also a factor.Instead, Fox had planned to provide a two-camera webcast from the Gabba, with Brendon Julian and Mark Waugh to comment on the match from the studio.However upon returning to work following a Monday public holiday in Melbourne, Cricket Australia and Fox Sports have thrashed out a deal to show the final in full from Friday on its main channels, relegating parts of the concurrent Test match between New Zealand and South Africa in Hamilton to the “red button” multi-channel option.It is understood the extra use of multi-channel technology required an increase in the bandwidth provided to Fox Sports by its parent pay television service Foxtel. The webcast will also go ahead, meaning viewers without a Fox subscription will be able to watch the final.”We are delighted to confirm the Sheffield Shield Final will be broadcast live and in full on Fox Sports and will be streamed simultaneously on the Fox Sports website,” the Fox Sports chief executive Patrick Delany said. “We are committed to over 183 hours of live sport from Friday through to Tuesday so it’s been a challenge with scheduling.”But we’ve worked with Foxtel to enable the match to be broadcast live with coverage of the final two days of the second Test between New Zealand and South Africa moving to Viewer’s Choice and available via the red button on Fox Sports 1.”Fox Sports has broadcast the Sheffield Shield Final live each year since the 2007-08 season and we are once again looking forward to providing live coverage, both on television and online, of one of Australia’s iconic sporting events.”Players on both sides were happy to hear that the match would now be televised, and the Bulls fast bowler Ryan Harris said it provided a greater incentive for the younger players in particular to display their talents.”It’s always good when you’re on TV, it’s always great when you know people are watching,” Harris told ESPNcricinfo. “When I read that it wasn’t being televised I was disappointed, because I myself in the years I’ve been in the country and not played in the final, I’ve sat and watched it. Young guys get recognised if they play well and a lot of people get to know the younger guys and the new guys if they do play well.”Personally it wouldn’t make too much difference because I have had time where I’ve been on TV and got used to that. But for younger guys definitely it will make a big difference, because they know a lot more people are watching, it may add a bit more nerves before they walk out and play. When I heard it was definitely on TV I was happy with that and I’m glad the right decision’s been made.”The ABC will provide a national digital radio broadcast of the final, with local radio stations to offer coverage into Queensland and Tasmania.

Cameron White has been dumped as Australia’s Twenty20 captain and replaced by George Bailey for the two matches against India next week. And Australia’s selectors have announced the surprise recall of the 40-year-old spinner Brad Hogg, who made a T20 comeback this summer and has been the standout slow bowler in the Big Bash LeagueIn a major shake-up eight months before the ICC World Twenty20, the new selection panel under John Inverarity has sent a clear message that the T20 side needed refreshment. Australia made the final of the 2010 World T20, but since then they have lost seven matches and won only two, and sit fifth on the ICC rankings behind England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa.The appointment of White as captain when Michael Clarke retired from the format last January was made by Andrew Hilditch’s selection panel with a view to building towards this year’s World T20, to be held in Sri Lanka in September. However, White made just 55 runs at an average of 7.85 in the BBL this season and Inverarity’s panel has made the change with at least four matches on Australia’s schedule before the World T20.Bailey, the captain of Tasmania and a team-mate of White at the Melbourne Stars, has not been in outstanding form either, having scored 114 runs at 19. However, he was viewed by the selectors as the right man to lead the side, with David Warner his vice-captain, while the Test vice-captain Shane Watson was not considered for the two games against India due to his ongoing injury problems.”The Australian T20 team has been ranked a rather disappointing sixth in the world and we’ve certainly considered that the team needs refreshment,” Inverarity said in announcing the squad in Melbourne on Monday. “It would be fair to say the national selection panel has been discussing this T20 squad for six or seven weeks.”If you look at [Bailey’s] record as captain … I’m of the view that Tasmania have done particularly well in recent years because of the leadership they’ve had, the well-defined leadership of Daniel Marsh and … then George has taken over. Last season they won the Shield under George, the year before they won the one-day competition under George. The results are there.”He’s widely respected throughout Australia. Those who play with him regard him very highly as a captain and as a leader. We’ve seen from Michael Clarke’s leadership, he has done very well not least because of his astute decision making on the field and George certainly has that too.”The decision means Bailey, 29, will play his first match for Australia in any format next week, and he will do it as captain. Bailey has been part of an Australian squad in the past – he was called up for the ODIs in New Zealand in early 2010 when Clarke returned home for personal reasons – but did not win a cap.

Australia T20 squad

George Bailey (capt), David Warner (vice-capt), Travis Birt, Dan Christian, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay, Matthew Wade (wk)

“It has [come out of the blue] in some ways but it’s something I feel like I’m ready to do and I’m very excited by,” Bailey said. “I think once you have been captain and played in the team for a little while, any time you’re on the field you’re always thinking. I haven’t captained during this Big Bash but even so I’ve always been thinking about what I’d be doing in similar circumstances, who I’d be bowling and field placements and things like that. I don’t think that part of you ever goes away.”When he walks out as leader for the T20 at Sydney’s Stadium Australia next Wednesday and the match at the MCG two days later, Bailey will be in charge of a new-look side. The fast-bowling allrounder James Faulkner will be in line for his debut, while the batsman Travis Birt has earned a recall nearly two years after his last international appearance.But the big talking point, besides the captaincy, was the recall of Hogg, whose left-arm wrist-spin has been a major reason the Perth Scorchers have made the BBL final. Hogg retired from all cricket four years ago but made his T20 comeback this summer, and Inverarity said if all went well, Hogg would be part of Australia’s squad at the World T20 in spinning conditions in Sri Lanka this year.”In my conversation with Brad it was that it would be the World Cup and that if he was selected our interest with him wouldn’t go beyond that,” Inverarity said. “Of course it could change. But that’s the general intention … Two months ago we probably weren’t thinking about Brad Hogg. [BBL] games have changed when he’s come on to bowl. He has been outstanding.”The inclusion of Hogg meant there was no room for Steven Smith or Steve O’Keefe, two slow bowlers who had been part of the T20 side in recent months. Xavier Doherty was the other specialist spinner named to take on India. Brett Lee, Clint McKay and Daniel Christian will round out the attack, while Matthew Wade was not surprisingly named as the wicketkeeper.Michael Hussey was not named in the squad but Inverarity clarified that his exclusion was a workload issue. Hussey almost singlehandedly blasted Australia into the final of the World T20 in 2010 with a brilliant innings in the semi-final, and although he has not played a T20 international in a year and a half, he is expected to be part of the squad when Australia play two matches in the Caribbean in late March.”Mike is being rested for this,” Inverarity said. “Mike has had a pretty gruelling schedule of Test matches – Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand and India. I had a chat to Mike in Perth about a week ago and we’re looking to give him a little bit of a break here, and probably in the early stages of the ODIs so he comes out fresh. We’re also keen to try some of these younger players. But at this stage there’d be no doubt that Mike Hussey would be playing in the T20s in the West Indies.”

Michael Clarke’s unbeaten 329, and the manner of its conclusion, have made “enormous inroads” for him to be respected by all in Australia and beyond, former captain Mark Taylor has said. Having made a similarly significant score and declaration when unbeaten on 334 against Pakistan in Peshawar in 1998, Taylor believed Clarke would have very few detractors left after spending time as a polarising figure when vice-captain to Ricky Ponting.It should not be forgotten that Taylor’s own successful tenure as captain of Australia was preceded by a period of doubts about his capabilities. Allan Border’s deputy, Taylor, had his fitness, batting style and suitability for one-day cricket questioned, and was even dropped to 12th-man duties at the conclusion of a poor summer against West Indies in 1992-93. However he flourished when granted the captaincy in 1994, and said Clarke had made a similar graduation.”You earn respect by the gestures and what you do in the game, the way you play the game,” Taylor said. “I think all these things will really help Michael Clarke. But I really think since he’s become the full-time captain, we’re now starting to see who Michael Clarke really is.”I think up to that stage, when you’re vice-captain, particularly when you’re vice-captain to a guy like Ricky who has been around for so long, been such a good player, captained three in World Cups, it’s hard to do the vice captaincy job right and keep everyone happy. In fact it’s impossible. I think a lot of people focused on the negatives of Michael Clarke, but now he is the main man and I think we’re starting to see the real Michael Clarke.”As a Cricket Australia board director, Taylor was one of the power-brokers who approved Clarke’s ascension to the captaincy, while as part of the Argus review panel he has played a key role in building the new support structure around him. He said Clarke had always shown a genuine love of and flair for the game, but it was only now as captain that many in the public could take notice of this.”I think he’s made enormous inroads this summer and I’m delighted to see it because personally, I’ve always been a big supporter of Michael Clarke,” Taylor said. “I’ve seen for a number years what people are now seeing from Michael Clarke. He’s a guy who loves the game of cricket and I don’t think people have quite understood that with Michael.”He had an opportunity to make the world Test record today, there’s no doubt about that. He needed another 72 to break the record. He could’ve done that and still had two days to bowl India out and win this Test match. He could’ve achieved both goals but what he wanted to say is ‘yes, I want to do well myself, every player does and that’s human nature, but I want to captain a side that’s going to win first’ and that’s a very important thing to have.”In Peshawar, Taylor spent a night unbeaten on Don Bradman’s 334 before deciding to declare, and said Clarke’s innings and its circumstances brought back plenty of memories. In any innings of that magnitude the batsman can become locked into a “zone” of timing and concentration, where it is their own fatigue and lack of a clear goal that can dismiss them as much as any bowler.”Having watched Michael today, you get to the stage when you get to 200 plus where you are really in that zone Greg Norman [the golfer] talked about,” Taylor said. “Every ball is hitting the middle of your bat and I couldn’t see him getting out, to me I only experienced it once in my career and that was in Peshawar on the second day.”Michael hopefully – he is a younger man than I was – will get a chance to experience it again, because it took me right until the end of my career to get to that stage. It’s [about] continuing to look for some reason to keep going, because the first thing you are told as a batsman is to get a 100 … then you get to 200 and you think ‘I’ve now got a big 100 – how many more do I get?'”That’s when people often dong one up in the air or play a shot they haven’t played for two or three hours. Michael kept going all the way and it was only the first ball after he got to 300 that he had a big flash at a wide one. That’s the one you could easily nick and be out for 303 and look back on that one ball as the only time you didn’t concentrate for ages. That can happen when you get to a score like that and you start getting tired.”

Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, knows Bellerive Oval intimately. As the leading first-class wicket-taker at the venue, he is well aware of how hard it is for batsmen in the morning. Six wickets fell before lunch on each of the first two days, and seven in the opening session on the third day. New Zealand need a similar start on Monday if they are to win a Test in Australia for the first time since 1985.After they closed the second day in a strong position thanks to outstanding bowling from Chris Martin, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell, New Zealand lost their advantage on Sunday. They set Australia 241 for victory, a challenging but not unreachable target, and then struggled to find the same rhythm with the ball that they had in the first innings, leaving Australia at 0 for 72.”We have to turn up tomorrow and start really well with the ball,” Wright said. “There’s been a little bit of assistance in the wicket throughout the game. We know that’s going to be there in the morning. Bellerive traditionally over the years always offers a little bit in the morning. It’s really important for us to come tomorrow and break this partnership, to start with, and take early wickets. There’s a little bit of variable bounce and we’re hoping that plays a part in the morning.”The guys bowled really, really well [in the first innings]. All four of them did a great job. Unfortunately in this innings we certainly haven’t started the way we would have like to. We’ve been a bit off our lengths and overpitched a little bit. We need to look at the stuff that we did in the first innings and stick to that plan. Hopefully in the morning the guys can come and do that.”In the first innings, New Zealand rarely sent down a bad delivery, building the pressure with accuracy, swing and seam movement. Especially professional was the way Martin bowled to plan against Phillip Hughes, who has struggled with the ball moving across him and has edged to the cordon three times already in the series.On day three, Martin didn’t quite find the right spot to Hughes, often bowling too straight or too full; a few more cuttable balls might have tested Hughes more. But things won’t get any easier for Australia’s openers in the morning after two ball changes late in the day due to the Kookaburras losing their shape: the one that New Zealand ended up with swung more than either of the others.”They had to change a couple up in Brisbane in the first Test as well,” Wright said. “Generally the Kookaburra ball is a good ball. I think conditions out there were just a bit wet and maybe the ball got a bit damp and maybe went out of shape a little bit. There were no complaints about the cricket balls. But this one is swinging, so let’s hope we keep this one.”Only 53.3 overs were bowled on the third day due to rain, but those overs that were completed couldn’t have gone much better for Australia. Kane Williamson fell early in the day and New Zealand lost their final seven wickets for 87 runs, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson finishing with three wickets each, while Nathan Lyon also picked up three when he ran through the tail.”We came feeling that we were in front in the game,” Wright said. “For us it was important to build a substantial lead and make Australia chase anything from 280-plus. We’ve got 240 and that’s not saying we don’t feel confident that we can defend that, but we just haven’t started well enough with the ball.”Australia’s vice-captain Brad Haddin described the efforts of Siddle in the first session as “world-class”. He said Australia had been intent on building pressure on New Zealand early in order to break into the lower order, and by the close of the day Australia found themselves in a strong position to push for victory.”Day three is always a massive day in a Test match,” Haddin said. “I thought the way we presented ourselves in the first session was world-class after being a bit flat going into the last session yesterday. I thought what we did with the ball was top shelf and we spoke about the first 10 to 15 overs out there batting, it is tough work and I think the guys did a fantastic job to get us into the position we did.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Pat Cummins looked a level above the other members of the touring attack on the second morning•AFP

A cultured Hashim Amla and controlled AB de Villiers established a priceless partnership to take South Africa’s advantage to a considerable 199 over Australia on day three.Each were close to being dismissed by Pat Cummins in the first over after lunch, but they survived the bullets of the 18-year-old debutant and defused the other significant threat of the spinner Nathan Lyon on a wearing pitch. Ultimately, when bad light ended play early again, they would walk off happily, having taken command at a Wanderers ground populated by the most bountiful crowd of the Test.Australia’s captain Michael Clarke sorely missed the bowling of his deputy Shane Watson, rendered immobile by a hamstring complaint, and leaned heavily on Cummins, who already looks a level above the other members of the touring attack. His morning spell to Jacques Kallis was compelling, and provided cause for Australian optimism even as Amla and de Villiers showed immense poise to build a union from the uncertain beginning of 90 for 3.What Cummins lacked most of all was support, for Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle in particular were unable to generate the sort of chances that their seniority and past experience in South Africa should have demanded. As with Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin, their international careers may soon be marked harshly on this evidence.Already 59 overs have been lost to the weather, and South Africa may be little more than another session’s batting from pushing their lead beyond Australia’s reach – even if the tourists manage to rid themselves of the batting horrors of Cape Town and the first innings in Johnannesburg.Sunnier skies at the start of the day had Johnson resuming the attack, completing his opening over with a shortened run-up. The gambit seemed to be geared towards achieving a higher-arm action and a greater chance of swing, but it brought no early wickets as Australia’s narrow lead was quickly swallowed up.Cummins was much the more vexing proposition for the openers, and after Jacques Rudolph had made a fluent start he hooked unwisely at a swift short ball and skied the simplest of chances for Haddin. Graeme Smith interspersed edges through the third-man region with the occasional sparkling drive and was looking good for more when spin was introduced.Lyon dropped onto a nice length in his first over to Amla, and then set about tempting Smith outside off stump. A modicum of rough provided the natural variation that Lyon enjoys, and when one ball bounced and turned a little more than Smith budgeted for, the airborne cut was taken in the gully.Clarke immediately took Lyon off to try Cummins, who set about Kallis with all the venom of a genuine strike bowler. In the space of 19 balls – reminiscent of Ishant Sharma’s fabled spell to Ponting in Perth in 2008 – Cummins made Kallis look decidedly uncomfortable, no more so than when one throat ball was only parried down off glove and bat handle with a fair helping of luck. An airy play and miss soon followed, and the bowler completed a comprehensive victory over his quarry when Kallis sparred at a delivery seaming away and edged to Clarke at slip.Not content with Kallis’ wicket, Cummins soon had de Villiers hopping around and calling for medical attention when a searing yorker struck him on the boot, and South Africa’s batsmen were happy to see lunch.On resumption Cummins went desperately close to removing both batsmen in the first over of the afternoon. After de Villiers presented a difficult return catch that failed to go to hand, Amla was pinned in front of his stumps, but was given not out by the umpire Billy Bowden. Australia’s referral was well-founded, but millimetres shy of matching the ICC’s parameters to overturn the original call.Two overs were all Clarke asked of Cummins, before he embarked upon something of a holding operation in which he rotated his bowlers briskly in the absence of Watson and even delivered two overs himself. Amla and de Villiers attacked when they could but also throttled back at times, careful not to over-reach as South Africa had done on day one.Lyon was partially blunted via the use of sweeps and reverse sweeps, Siddle bowled presentably, and Johnson achieved some of his desired swing from a reduced run-up. But the tourists’ hopes were now heavily pinned on Cummins, who in his second spell of the session lacked some of the rhythm and energy of the morning, spearing a few too many projectiles down the legside.Tea came and went but the skies were darkening as Amla and de Villiers resumed. They added another 38 runs against opposition that had started to look beleaguered, de Villiers advancing to swing Lyon into the stands at wide long-on and Amla showing heavenly balance to twice dispatch Johnson through the covers.As speculation swirled ever more intensely around Ponting’s future, he was brought on to bowl in dying light – to a chorus of boos, no less – and swung the ball a little. It would be the final over of a day that shaped initially towards the fielding side, but for the first time in the match ended with the batsmen very much in command.