Genes, even impeccable ones, can be a cursed thing and Faisal Iqbal may know it better than most. Ever since he made his debut for Pakistan, ever since he even emerged onto domestic cricket’s consciousness, people have included, in the same breath as him, his maternal uncle, Javed Miandad. His debut tour was the famously cantankerous one to New Zealand in 2000-01; Miandad was coach only to be removed immediately after it amidst stories of player indiscipline and an atmosphere of such fractiousness, that Moin Khan was relieved of his captaincy. Amidst the ruckus, an accomplished debut was almost forgotten.Since then and until today, he has hovered on the fringes of the national squad. Five years, only ten Tests, one briefly glittering comeback is all he has had to show for it. His return to the side for this Test, three years after his last appearance, was less contentious and more stirring and he marked it with a punchy maiden Test hundred. You can argue that at 281 for 3, the situation when he walked in, little pressure was on, but with his background, it isn’t a credible theory.”The pressure was there as I was making a comeback and I hadn’t scored in the first innings. I didn’t look at anything else just at what I needed to do and how to score. I concentrated only on myself and every ball I was facing,” he said later.He concentrated enough to push the first ball he faced from Sourav Ganguly to square leg for two and then began his second comeback properly. The first boundary arrived in the next Ganguly over, the balance shifted to his front foot and the ball was driven through extra cover. Many of his subsequent shots came from a backfoot base; a push through covers off Anil Kumble, a hoick over midwicket from off stump. He tackled Kumble particularly well, slicing him through third man and then feigning a charge before leaning back to push square of cover.Until tea and after Shahid Afridi’s dismissal soon after the break, he was subdued though not perturbed. His fifty came off 116 balls, but he celebrated it buoyantly soon after, moving back, rising up and spanking Zaheer Khan on the up through cover again for four. It was dismissive and neither the delivery nor the bowler deserved it. In the last over of the day, he pulled Kumble to midwicket for his 12th boundary to bring up his hundred.So assured was he in his innings over four hours, it could have been mistaken for cockiness, a trait that he has been accused of in the past, and if true, shares with his uncle. Possibly, his strokeplay holds a greater aesthetic appeal. “Javed Miandad is my uncle and has taught me through my childhood. I have learnt a lot from him. But I have only ever wanted to do one thing and that is to make a name for myself, to make a name for Faisal Iqbal.”Judgements shouldn’t be rushed for he has had a false and spectacular dawn before. Against Australia in Colombo, October 2002, he made a silky 83 off only 85 balls when Pakistan were 75 for 4 against an attack some might call one of the greatest: Warne, McGrath, Gillespie and Lee. “Both times it was my comeback and that was a good innings as well. But this one was a comeback and it was also against India so I prefer this one I guess. While I was out of the squad my only aim was to get back into it. I wanted to be a part of this excellent team and I now want to play for as long as possible for Pakistan.”He came into the squad on the back of an impressive domestic season – this was his ninth century this season – and although he only played because of Inzamam’s rickety back, he was pushing in any case. “My performance in the domestic season was good enough to be picked for the squad. Inzamam is a big player and a great batsman but my only aim was to get an opportunity and then make the most of it.”Rahul Dravid can’t be too bad a judge of a batsman and after Iqbal had scored 87 against India in the pre-series warm-up match in Lahore, he was impressed enough to offer him some advice. “It’s a really good feeling when a big player like Rahul Dravid praises you and gives you tips for the future. It really boosted my confidence.”Inzamam’s back and age are both fighting the onset of time now. Hasan Raza and Asim Kamal are quietly receding from the limelight. As a litmus test for Pakistan’s middle order post-Inzamam, a more appropriate situation couldn’t be found here. Iqbal has now presented his case. And if he continues, we might not need to refer to you-know-who for much longer.

Australia’s selectors turned the clock back to the Ashes by recalling Damien Martyn, Michael Kasprowicz and Shaun Tait for the three-Test tour of South Africa starting next week. The team has undergone a rash of changes with Brad Hodge dropped in favour of Michael Clarke while Nathan Bracken and Shane Watson will return home next week with the other members of the one-day squad. Stuart MacGill won a place as Shane Warne’s back-up and there was no spot for Jason Gillespie.The announcement ends the international hiatus of Martyn and Kasprowicz, who feared their globe-trotting days were over after they were scapegoats for the Ashes loss. “Martyn has had some time out of the team and we feel this is the right time to slot him back in at No. 4,” Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said. “The reintroduction of Clarke follows some productive time away from the Test team. Hodge can count himself unlucky not to be included.” Hodge has missed the big scores in the Pura Cup that were necessary for inclusion.Kasprowicz and Tait have benefited from strong domestic seasons and the absence of Glenn McGrath, who has stayed home to be with his family. “The decision on the make-up of the fast bowling quartet was not an easy one, given that we are without McGrath,” Hohns said. “We wanted a blend of pace, youth, experience and line and length and believe we have all of these covered with our selection. Tait is coming back from a shoulder injury and he’s bowling at full pace so we’re happy that the injury isn’t hampering his bowling.” The squad will be reviewed after the series for the two-match tour to Bangladesh next month.MacGill was wary ahead of the team announcement after previous disappointing misses, but Ricky Ponting has pushed for him to be part of a twin-spin offering in the first Test at Cape Town on March 16. “I’ve believed I was a certainty to make tours in the past at times but was proven wrong,” MacGill told the . “I missed one against Pakistan and two against India when I thought I should have been pretty close. But I do feel I deserve a spot and that I’ll be up to the task.”Australia chose two legspinners in five home Tests this summer as doubts about MacGill bowling in tandem with Warne eased. “I’d pick me for a number of reasons, one of them being that having been around for a while now, I have a reasonable level of experience in various situations,” he told the paper. “That could be particularly valuable around a young attack … for this tour and the future if players like Glenn McGrath aren’t available. Australia doesn’t have a bloke like [the former coach] Bob Simpson around, so the teaching for the younger guys comes from the player group.”Australia squad Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Michael Kasprowicz, Stuart MacGill, Stuart Clark, Shaun Tait.

Australia found the ideal bowling balance at Cape Town and the three fast men should be confident of playing in Friday’s second Test at Durban, according to Adam Gilchrist. Gilchrist, the vice-captain, said the attack now had “fantastic variety”, and the superb performance has not helped Stuart MacGill’s prospects of making a strong impact on the series.MacGill was expected to play at Cape Town, but Stuart Clark was a late inclusion and picked up 9 for 89 on debut while Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz also performed well as Australia won by seven wickets. “When previously we had three quick bowlers in the group there were question marks or perhaps slight criticism that, other than Brett, the other two or three were very similar and much the same as each other,” Gilchrist told . “But it seems that the balance of this bowling line-up had fantastic variety.”Gilchrist said on the evidence of the first Test the seam bowlers should arrive in Durban in an upbeat mood. “We’re well-stocked, well-balanced and hoping to carry this momentum into the rest of the series,” Gilchrist said. “It was line ball whether we played three and one or two spinners, and I think we got it right with the selections.”Six catches helped Gilchrist stay ahead of Mark Boucher on the all-time wicketkeeper’s list and move him to within 12 dismissals of Rod Marsh’s 355. “To walk off with a keeping performance that I took every chance that came my way really, that’s as pleasing as anything I can do in the game of cricket,” Gilchrist said. Marsh sits second behind Ian Healy’s 395, which is made up of 366 catches and 29 stumpings in 119 Tests.Two days after the match the bowler-friendly surface is still being discussed and Gilchrist said it “wasn’t particularly great”. “We would all like one that offers a bit to bowlers early on and then plays well through the middle and breaks up towards the end,” he said. “There was a lot of movement off the wicket and it made for exciting cricket, I guess. But I hope, from a batting point of view, we get something a bit flatter and without so much sideways movement.”Micky Arthur, the South Africa coach, had asked before the match for the pitch to suit the seamers, but he agreed the surface was “not ideal”. “It was very dry when we arrived and Christo [Erasmus] obviously wet it,” Arthur said. “I think he might have put too much moisture in it. Ultimately, it didn’t play as we wanted.” South Africa were dismissed for 205 and 197 and lost the Test in three days.

Chris Harris set an excellent example as captain, guiding Canterbury to an 86-run win against Central Districts in their State Championship match at Christchurch. Harris enjoyed a match aggregate of 174 runs (without being dismissed) and seven wickets, including an unbeaten 55 and 4 for 44 with the ball in the second innings, to dismiss the opposition for 273. Harris and Craig McMillan (42*) added 90 for the fourth wicket as Canterbury declared their second innings at 252 for 4, leaving Central Districts to chase 360. Harris got rid of Jarod Englefield, who top-scored with 77, one of his three caught-and-bowled victims. Ewen Thompson made a spirited half-century (54) at No.8 before falling to Gary Stead. Harris claimed the last two wickets as his side romped to victory.Auckland went from strength to strength at the end of the third day in their State Championship match at Eden Park setting Wellington a tall target of 510. Martin Guptill of Auckland was unlucky to fall one short of what would have been his debut ton in first-class cricket, caught behind by Chris Nevin off Jesse Ryder. His knock came off 272 balls with 14 fours and a six. Matthew Horne had a good outing, scoring 81 as Auckland declared at 443 for 6. In reply, Wellington lost two wickets, that of Luke Woodcock and Michael Parlane after an opening stand of 54. Matthew Bell was not out on 52 at stumps with the score on 89.Otago gained valuable first-innings points after their match against Northern Districts ended in a draw at Dunedin. A dogged display of batting by Bruce Martin and Joseph Yovich bailed Northern Districts out of trouble, after they were reduced to 141 for 7, losing three wickets in the morning session. The pair added 102 for the eighth wicket and Martin remained unbeaten on 62, putting in an impressive allround show in the match, after his five-wicket haul on the third day. David Sewell, the left-arm bowler, was the most effective bowler for Otago, with figures of 4 for 58.

Lunch England 83 for 4 (Vaughan 10*, Flintoff 4*) vSouth Africa A
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCharl Langeveldt grabbed three wickets in six overs to give South Africa Athe upper hand at lunch on the first day at Potchefstroom, as England weregiven a timely reminder of the step-up in class that awaits them ahead ofnext week’s first Test at Port Elizabeth. After being asked to bat first,Andrew Strauss gave England some early momentum by cracking an even 50,but two quick wickets just before lunch left Michael Vaughan and AndrewFlintoff needing to engage in some damage limitation.By lunch, England had reached 83 for 4, in a session that posed morequestions than answers, especially after Mark Butcher had missed out forthe second innings running.Butcher missed much of last summer through injury, but was preferred inthis match to Robert Key on the strength of his international performancesover the past three years. But, following his 6 from 12 balls atRandjesfontein on Wednesday, he lasted just seven more deliveries, beforewafting a simple catch to Mark Boucher behind the stumps, to giveLangeveldt a wicket with his sixth ball of the morning.Boucher was another man with much to prove after his omission from SouthAfrica’s Test squad, but he enjoyed a far more auspicious morning, with ahand in both wickets to fall. His first victim was Marcus Trescothick, whotook 11 balls to get off the mark and had scratched his way to 7 from 43deliveries by the time he fenced a lifting delivery high to Boucher’sleft, to give Ethy Mbhalati a deserved first wicket.Strauss, however, was in fine fettle and needed little time to get intohis stride. He opened his account with two flowing cover-drives, andfollowed up with a square-drive and a pull for four, all off Mbhalati. Hehad one scare on 25, when a inswinging bouncer from Charl Willoughby allbut brushed his gloves, but he responded with a high and handsome cut forfour, and reached his fifty from 68 balls with a push for two through thecovers off Langeveldt.But with lunch approaching, England’s innings floundered dramatically.Strauss was served up a juicy wide delivery, which should have been his11th four of the morning, but was instead plucked at point by JustinOntong. And then, after facing three just three balls, Graham Thorpe wasadjudged lbw to a full delivery, again off Langeveldt. It could have beeneven worse, but Flintoff somehow managed to edge his first delivery cleanthrough the gap between the keeper and Andrew Puttick at first slip.England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 Steve Harmison.South Africa A 1 Andrew Puttick, 2 Martin van Jaarsveld, 3 Ashwell Prince (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 Justin Ontong, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Alfonso Thomas, 9 Charl Langeveldt, 10 Ethy Mbhalati, 11 Charl Willoughby.

Warwickshire 208 and 310 beat Durham 359 and 141 (Daggett 6-30) by 18 runs
Scorecard

Lee Daggett was a man with two missions – kill off Durham and make sure the game finished in time for the football. He did both, handing Warwickshire a surprise 18-run victory over Durham at Edgbaston with a six-wicket haul. In just his second first-team match, the 23-year-old Daggett knocked over the last five batsmen with his fast-medium pacers to end with 6 for 30 from 14.4 overs.It’s no surprise that it was Daggett who was the man for the job, being a keen football fan who has attended Bury’s Centre of Excellence in the past, and he also has previous as Durham’s nemesis. Two years ago, as a Durham UCCE player he took 8 for 94 to destroy their first innings. And now, in just his second first-class match for a county, he has destroyed them again – with 15 minutes to go before kick-off.Durham started the day needing just 98 runs with eight wickets in hand. It should have been a formality but once Heath Streak struck to remove Gary Pratt for 21, Warwickshire kept on striking and Durham lost their last seven wickets for 71.James Anyon, another product of the UCCE system (he was at Loughborough), took the next two wickets to fall but after that it was the Daggett show. By now Durham needed just 45 runs with five wickets, but they couldn’t rest on their laurels and folded in the face of some hostile Daggett fire.

Division Two

Neither match in the second division ate into the football either. Somerset had the good grace to fold for 313 against Worcestershire, who wrapped up a convincing ten-wicket win at Taunton. Worcestershire were made to bat again but Phil Jaques and Stephen Moore knocked off the 42 runs they needed in just 19 balls.Surrey wrapped up proceedings against Leicestershire at the Oval in plenty of time. For a full report on the final day of that match click here.

In what has been a largely bland series, with phases of brilliance thrown in, one particular rivalry has hardly simmered. This might be India taking on West Indies but the two Australian coaches have had their axes to grind. Both have had turbulent times while in charge, both have earned reputations as hard taskmasters, both have created enemies through their approach, and, at the moment, both have plenty on their plate.Bennett King must be in an awkward situation. Throughout the series, Brian Lara has walked into press conferences and criticised the selectors for some of their choices, going to the extent of saying that they weren’t “singing from the same hymn sheet”. King, for his part, is the fourth selector on the panel and possesses the vital casting vote. It can’t be easy. Lara seems to want fast bowlers and has hinted at the likes of Tino Best and Jermaine Lawson. The selectors seem to think differently.It has come down to a crucial selection quandary. West Indies retained their 13 from the previous Test but decided to wait on confirming the final number. “We’ve got 13 and have got some more deliberations tonight,” said King, who with his vital casting vote, may ultimately matter most. “Whether that means someone would be added or subtracted would be known only on the morning. But we have got some thoughts going on. I think that we need a way when the ball gets older and the wicket gets flatter. We need to have something up your sleeve then, someone who is very, very quick, or a world-class spinner who can put pressure on the opposition. That’s probably the area we are looking at tonight.”World-class spinners exist in the Caribbean, just that they are usually found in the rollicking night clubs and rotating, not a cricket ball, but their hips. “Very, very quick” is equally paradoxical. The choice is probably between Lawson, Daren Powell – both Jamaicans – and Best. Also, maybe they’re waiting on Fidel Edwards’s fitness. It’s all very, very hazy and things will become clear around 24 hours before the match.For Greg Chappell, the past few weeks have been a tough ride. First he watched the one-day side, that same side that had galloped to victory after victory, disintegrate. Then he watched as India squandered chance after chance to close out the first two Tests. The last two Test series have been mini-disasters – lost in Pakistan and drew with a second-string England at home. A draw here would give a feeling of stagnation, a loss would be quite calamitous. Chappell continues to reiterate that it’s a young side – he says it so often that you feel happy that a set of men can forever be young – but results may turn out to be the ultimate judge.”I have said many times before that winning and losing is not the most important thing,” he said after the team’s practice session at Melbourne Cricket Club. “It’s something that keeps the wolves at bay but the important thing is that we keep improving with each game. And I think we have. We have had some positives that have come out of this series. Some of the young bowlers have had some terrific experience and that will stand them in good stead for the future, whatever that might be – whether the future is this game or the following games after that.”Some of our batting has been really solid. VVS Laxman getting a hundred in the last Test match was important, [Mohammad] Kaif has got his first Test hundred behind him, Veeru [Sehwag] has been in good form, the captain continues to make runs, [Wasim] Jaffer has had a really good series. They are the positives; they are the things that I prefer to focus on. Because if we keep doing those things well, we are going to become a good Test match team. And that is what we are aiming for.”It was a routine practice session for both teams – India at Melbourne CC and West Indies at Kensington. The main highlight was probably Munaf Patel unleashing a fierce bouncer and smacking Sreesanth behind his left ear. “He got a bit of a shake-up,” said Chappell, “got hit on the helmet this morning which spoilt his day a little bit. But he will be OK. John [Gloster] said that there doesn’t appear to be any other problems, just a lump on his head and a bit of a bruised ego perhaps. But other than that, he’s fine.” Munaf usually enjoys hitting batsmen – growing up in Ikhar, he sent several of his friends to hospital – but this one might have been a bit too tricky to enjoy.

Bob Woolmer has refused to rule Shoaib Akhtar out of the final Test against England, at The Oval, but the paceman remains doubtful after he was denied another chance to bowl following the wash-out of Pakistan’s match against West Indies A at Shenley.Following yesterday’s draw, the two teams were due to face each other again but heavy showers in the South East of England caused the game to be called off before the scheduled start. It means Shoaib is well short of the amount of bowling Woolmer had earmarked before he’d be considered for an international return.”We saw enough of Shoaib yesterday [when he took 1 for 59 off 11 overs] to hold on to him and we’ll make a decision later on in the week as to whether we play him or not,” Woolmer told PA Sport. “We’re erring on the cautionary side. He did look very fit yesterday but obviously short of match practice but overall I thought he looked very good.”The plan had been for him to bowl at least 30 overs for him to be ready. Everything happens for a reason and maybe this is a sign that he is not ready to play in a Test match. But it’s not just up to me, there’s the captain involved and a whole medical team as well, not to mention Shoaib himself. I’ll go away and talk to them and then we’ll decide.”

Kenya have recalled the opening batsman, Morris Ouma, for the one-day international series against Bangladesh that gets underway on Saturday.Ouma, who is also a reserve wicketkeeper, replaces Timothy Mwange, one of two youngsters who had been expected to make their international debut in Canada. However, neither featured in the Intercontinental Cup, nor the two one-day matches Kenya played in Toronto.The change is part of head coach Roger Harper’s desire to improve the run-rate from his top order, which has disappointedly failed to deliver in the last four international competitions.Kennedy Otieno Obuya, the struggling veteran opener and wicketkeeper, has retained his place despite heavy criticism for his poor batting during the disastrous tour of Bangladesh, where Kenya suffered a 4-0 series defeat earlier this year.Harper said Kenya, which has won six of the 11 matches they have played with Test-playing Bangladesh since 1997, would be looking to avenge the defeat.”This is a new series and both teams start from scratch,” said Harper. “In Bangladesh they had the advantage of home conditions. We expect to be able to perform a lot better in home conditions and we’re looking forward to being very competitive and really trying to turn the tables on the Bangladeshis this time.”

The Indian board (BCCI) has introduced three new umpires to the ICC’s International Panel. Amish Saheba of Gujarat, Suresh Shastri of Mumbai and GA Pratapkumar of Andhra Pradesh will replace K Hariharan, I Sivaram and AV Jayaprakash in the panel for a three-year term with immediate effect, MP Pandove, the BCCI joint secretary, announced.Saheba and Shastri will perform on-field duties and will also be available for international games, while Pratapkumar will be the third umpire for matches at home. Pandove confirmed that the decision to revamp the entire panel was taken because the existing members did not make the ICC’s Elite Panel. “It was decided to encourage young blood and weed out old umpires who are found incapable,” a BCCI media release stated.S Venkataraghavan, who retired as an international umpire in 2003, has been appointed as the director of umpires by the BCCI. Pandove said that within ten days Venkat would elaborate on methods for improving the standard of umpiring in India. He added that all domestic matches from the Under-19 level and up would be recorded for better analysis: “The video recording along with the reports given by the captain and match referee would be considered to assess the performance of umpires.”Pandove also said the best umpires in the country will be under a contract. “By next season we hope to prune down the number of umpires on the BCCI’s Elite, All India and Ranji Trophy panel to 100. Of them about 20 to 25 will be given a contract. Those under the contract can focus solely on officiating and do not have to spend their energies on worrying about earning a livelihood.”Meanwhile, Venkat has recommended the appointment of retired umpires — both Indian and foreigners — to conduct refresher courses for umpires twice a year. He has also recommended the appointment of a coach from each zone who would assess the umpires on a daily basis. The BCCI will also conduct medical examinations of every umpire.