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Brett Lee, who was savaged by India’s batsmen in the recently concluded 3 Test series, has been recalled to the squad for the VB Series match against Zimbabwe at the Bellerive Oval on Friday (starting 2300 GMT Thursday). Brad Hogg also gets a look in, with Jason Gillespie and Ian Harvey being rested for the game.Lee took eight wickets in two Tests against India, but they came at a cost of 59.5 apiece. In the first innings at Sydney, he went for 201, the first genuinely fast bowler to suffer such an indignity in the game’s history. Ricky Ponting, who has led Australia to victories in their first two games of the tri-nation tournament, reckoned that Lee was now ready to set the record straight.”He probably wasn’t bowling well a couple of weeks ago and that’s why we decided to give him a rest,” said Ponting. “I think he was a bit tired, which was hindering the way he could bowl and the way he could perform, so we’ve given him a bit of time to recover and I’m sure you’ll see him perform better over the next couple of weeks.”The decision to rest Gillespie was no surprise, given the load he has had to shoulder since coming back from a calf injury for the Sydney Test. With Brad Williams in splendid form, Australia clearly fancy their chances of knocking over Zimbabwe, even with their premier fast bowler on the sidelines.”Jason’s been up for a while, played a fair bit of cricket and is bowling well at the moment, and with the tournament the way it is at the moment, it just presented itself to give him a bit of a rest,” said Ponting. Zimbabwe’s top order will need to show a great deal more skill and pluck if they are to take advantage of his absence.Australia squad Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Michael Bevan, Brad Hogg, Andy Bichel, Brett Lee, Brad Williams.

New Zealand have announced their 15-player squad for the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia next month. There are five players with experience in first-class and provincial cricket, while several impressed at the recent national Under-19 championship.The captain is yet to be decided, although it was Kane Williamson in the recent match in Hamilton. There are two wicketkeepers in the squad – Michael Guptill-Bunce and Michael Bracewell.”The competition gives our emerging players the opportunity to test their skills in a tournament environment against world’s best,” said coach Dipak Patel, one of four selectors alongside Lance Cairns, John Wright and Kaushik Patel. “It is a stepping stone for potential future Blackcaps, giving players a chance early in their careers to experience a high level of tournament play.The squad assembles on Thursday 31 January before attending a camp in Queensland, moving on to Malaysia on Sunday 10 February. New Zealand will play Malaysia, Zimbabwe and Pakistan in the first round.Squad Corey Anderson, Nicholas Beard, Harry Boam, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Tamati Clarke, Fraser Colson, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Greg Morgan, Jeet Raval, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Anurag Verma, Kane Williamson, George Worker.

New Zealand have suffered the most number the sixes from Gilchrist’s bat , with 21 hits clearing the boundary. India have been fairly successful in keeping the left-hander quiet, with only 10 sixes in 24 innings.

New Zealand’s suffering is not surprising considering Daniel Vettori has been whacked for 17 sixes. Three left-arm spinners – Vettori, Enamul Haque and Nicky Boje – top the list. That Gilchrist favours them is indicated by the fact that 42 of his 100 have come against them.

Gilchrist’s maximum of eight sixes falls well short of Wasim Akram’s record of 12 in an innings.

Apart from Chris Cairns, Gilchrist has the best percentage of sixes every innings compared to the rest of the batsmen in the top six six-hitters in Tests.

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Boosted by the absence of Graeme Smith, West Indies will approach the first Twenty20 international against South Africa in Port Elizabeth with confidence.Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has made optimistic noises since landing in the country and, despite falling behind the Duckworth-Lewis target in the warm-up match against Makhaya Ntini XI, West Indies can be expected to put up a stiff fight.With three straight wins against Zimbabwe, after suffering a loss in the opening ODI, West Indies have some momentum on their side. Gayle will also take confidence from the opening match of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, where he lashed a 57-ball 117. It didn’t prevent a defeat but definitely provided a big early scare.”We respect the South Africans,” Gayle said, “but we don’t fear them. They are a good team and are playing good cricket at the moment, so we know the challenge at hand. But we are confident and we believe in our ability. We played well in Zimbabwe and we are here in South Africa to continue the good work. They will be in for a fight.”Chasing 177 in the practice match on Friday, West Indies started off shakily, losing their top three batsmen for 34, but were to be steadied by Shivnarine Chanderpaul. His rollicking 44 set the platform but the onset of rain, at 101 for 5, did West Indies in, falling short of the D/L target by five runs.South Africa, though, will be hard to beat. Smith, who has been advised three week’s rest after contracting an infection during the tour of Pakistan, will be replaced by Shaun Pollock as captain. Morne van Wyk will fill Smith’s absence at the top of the order. They are currently the second-best ODI side, according to the ICC rankings, and are usually buoyed by their local support.The first Twenty20 match will be followed by the three Test matches (Port Elizabeth from 26 December, Cape Town from 2 January and Durban from 10 January). The second Twenty20 is scheduled for January 18 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

Neil McKenzie, ignored by the national selectors for the first three games againstNew Zealand, waved his bat under the noses of Rushdie Magiet and colleagueswith a stylish century to help Northerns Titans beat North West Dragons by29 runs at Supersport Park on Wednesday night.Not one of the national selectors in the Gauteng region turned up to watchMcKenzie in a Standard Bank Cup game where he put together the sort ofperformance which revived a struggling innings, his 103 coming off 109balls and including 12 fours.McKenzie learned only hours before the side left Nairobi on Sunday that hehad been left out of the national squad for the opening matches of thelimited overs international season against the competitive New Zealanders.This after the selectors had earlier indicated they were grooming the Titansbatsman for a middle-order place.McKenzie and the Northerns Titans captain, Gerald Dros, posteda national domestic record of 181 runs for the fourth wicket as Northerns puttogether a total of 239 for seven in their 45 overs.Dros scored an impressive 86 off 99 balls and, with his threewickets for 52 earned man of the match award.Greg Smith’s left-arm pace (3-24) ripped through the North West top-order asthe Dragons ran out of steam, scoring 210 for seven. Mark Lavine made 63 off 56 balls with three fours and six sixes, two of them among the biggestseen at the venue in a long time.

Australia 254 for 7 (Ponting 101, Bevan 57) beat Bangladesh 142 (Kapali 49; Harvey 4-16) by 112 runs
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Australia wrapped up the one-day series against Bangladesh 3-0, as expected, beating them by 112 runs at Darwin’s Marrara Oval. Bangladesh fought lustily to start with, though, reducing Australia to 114 for 4 after they had won the toss and opted to bat, picking up three middle-order wickets for two runs at one stage. Ricky Ponting came to the rescue with his fourth ODI century of the year, and his 127-run stand with Michael Bevan was instrumental in Australia reaching 254 for 7. Bangladesh’s batsmen then duly wilted, though Alok Kapali contributed a doughty 49.Bangladesh made a cautious start but stumbled every time they tried to accelerate the scoring. Both openers, Javed Omar (16) and Hannan Sarkar (1), were done in by lack of footwork, and were out leg-before. Jason Gillespie was magnificently parsimonious early on, giving away just two runs in his first seven overs. Bangladesh were crawling, and something had to give.Both Habibul Bashar (2) and Mohammad Ashraful (4) were out charging the bowlers in an attempt to up the run-rate, then Tushar Imran was run out for 1. A sixth-wicket partnership of 66 between Kapali and Sanwar Hossain (27) took Bangladesh past 100, but both were eventually out to Brad Hogg, deceived by his guile into giving simple return catches. The tailenders attempted valiantly to last the 50 overs, but failed.Earlier, Ponting had dominated the Australian innings, rescuing it from their only slippery moment of the series. Bevan and Ponting added 127 at a rate of over six an over, efficiently wiping out any chance Bangladesh might have had of restricting Australia to a gettable total.Mohammad Rafique, who picked up the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden for just 31 runs, bowled particularly well, as did Mashrafe Mortaza, who bowled at the business end of the innings to finish with 2 for 41. Bangladesh showed spirit; but in the end, they weren’t anywhere near good enough.

South Australia will offer four New South Wales players contracts before the end of the week in a bid to boost the struggling state’s batting stocks. Greg Mail, Aaron O’Brien, Tom Cooper and Grant Lambert could all be heading to Adelaide if the Redbacks coach Mark Sorell, who flew to Sydney on Monday for talks, has his way.South Australia deliberately targeted players on the fringe of the Pura Cup-winning New South Wales squad that includes ten Cricket Australia-contracted players. “We’re feeling pretty confident,” Sorell said. “They’re at a very strong state where lack of opportunity has been an issue and we think they will fit in very nicely here.”Mail, 29, played only four Pura Cup matches for the Blues last season despite making nearly 300 runs. Lambert, a useful 30-year-old allrounder, was used six times for 163 runs at 27.16 and nine wickets at 30.77. O’Brien did not feature at all, following semi-regular appearances over the previous six seasons, and Cooper is an uncapped rookie. Sorell said Cooper, 21, would be an investment for the future.South Australia must also find a captain for next summer after Nathan Adcock lost his Pura Cup position mid-season. However, none of the New South Wales players have been offered the job. “We have some good internal candidates at the moment,” Sorell said, “and we’ll address leadership when they sign.”The Redbacks have already picked up Michael Klinger from Victoria and are not chasing any other players. However, Sorell was disappointed to have lost out to the Bushrangers on Chris Rogers.Sorell also wants to keep the spin duo of Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey even though squeezing both of them into the side in 2007-08 was almost impossible. “I’m confident that that will happen,” Sorell said. “It’s a priority, there’s no doubt about that.”He is also hoping to retain Ryan Harris, the allrounder, but questions over his status have been raised after he used his British passport to sign as a local player with Sussex. South Australia want to speak to Harris over his intentions for the next Australian season.

BAT Sports chased a massive 266-7 to beat ECB Southern Electric Premier League champions Havant by one wicket – the winning run coming from a wide off the very last ball !The astonishing victory has put the championship trophy within reach of BAT, who win surely clinch the title at Liphook & Ripsley next week.BAT won after requiring 137 off the last 20 overs, 28 from three and nine runs off the final over bowled by Yorkshireman Bevis Moynan.With one ball remaining, the Tobaccomen had tied the scores at 266-9.But Moynan’s vital last ball strayed down the leg-side to give BAT a thrilling victory.For once, prolific New Zealander Neal Parlane was not at the forefront of BAT’s victory charge.Trapped leg before by Moynan for 32, BAT relied upon Damian Shirazi to anchor the innings.He did it to perfection, batting a large slice of the evening session, sharing a 72-run start with Parlane and then 119 with Dave Banks (50).BAT lost wickets as they chased the target – four batsmen, including Shirazi (92), being dismissed for 32 runs at one stage – but were hit back into the picture, initially by Chris Thomason (20).But it was Archie Norris’s cavalier 22 not out, including three exquisite cover drives, which won the game."His innings swung it, no doubt about that," said Havant skipper Paul Gover, who spent a sleepness wondering how the game had got away."We batted superbly to get 266-7, but our bowling was abysmal. I don’t recall us ever bowling so badly."All credit to BAT, but we gave them 48 extras, including 29 wides and no balls. "In other words we bowled almost six extra overs at them," he moaned.Havant’s total was built around an opening stand of 129 between Steve Snell (67) and Simon Barnard (44).Andy Perry (59) and Chris Wright (38) helped the total to 266-7, with Dan Goldstraw taking 3-47.Andover produced one of their best wins of the season when they nailed Bashley (Rydal) by seven wickets at London Road.Bashley were never allowed to get going with the bat and found their 167-8 comfortably beaten.Mark and Roger Miller, together with off-spinner Gareth Tate (2-23), were particularly effective for Andover.Brad Thompson (39) was prominent as Bashley reached 101-3, but three wickets fell for only eight runs before Neil Taylor (21), Kevin Nash (19 not out) and Matt King (15 not out) thwarted the middle-order collapse to lift the visitors to 167-8.Nash struck an early blow for Bashley, but a second consecutive half-century by Rob Atkins (50) and an unbroken partnership between Toby Radford (41) and Roger Miller (28) swept Andover to a convincing seven-wicket win.

Frizzell County Championship Division One
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Sussex 614 for 4 dec beat Leicestershire 179 and 380 by innings and 55 runs at Hove
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Jason Lewry rose above the hangovers, to ensure that Sussex’s celebrations will be all the wilder this evening – assuming, of course, that any of the team can look a champagne glass in the face. Lewry’s career-best figures of 8 for 106 secured an innings victory for Sussex with a day to spare, but they were made to sweat off the alcohol in the first half of the day, thanks to a fifth-wicket stand of 208 between John Sadler and Darren Masters. Masters, who came in as a nightwatchman, made 119 – the first century of his first-class career. Sussex had grabbed two early wickets, including George Walker, who lost concentration when a lady with a shopping bag wandered across the outfield. But with Mushtaq Ahmed off the field with a sore hip, it wasn’t until Masters skied a catch to Robin Martin-Jenkins off Billy Taylor, that Lewry took command. Darren Maddy and Paul Nixon fell to consecutive deliveries, and Phil DeFreitas and Vasbert Drakes lasted three balls between them, as Leicestershire’s last five wickets tumbled for 27 runs.Nottinghamshire 376 for 9 dec and 319 for 8 dec v Lancashire 219 and 6 for 0 at Trent Bridge
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Lancashire’s forlorn hopes of sneaking the Championship died long ago, but Nottinghamshire are still desperate to avoid the wooden spoon. On this evidence, and with news of Leicester’s capitulation filtering north, they will do so with room to spare. Glen Chapple hadn’t given up the good fight, however – he picked up all six wickets to fall as Notts slumped to 151, but then Paul Franks led the revival with an even 100. He needed just 112 balls for his innings as he cracked 12 fours and two sixes, and Notts were able to declare for the second time in the match. That left Lancashire facing a tricky period of batting, but bad light came to their aid after three overs.Surrey 318 and 194 lost to Essex 464 and 49 for 2 by eight wickets at The Oval
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Surrey’s second-string team was no match for Essex’s Mohammad Akram, who steamed through their flimsy line-up for career-best figures of 8 for 49. Surrey were already up against it after Andy Flower’s double-century on the second day, but when they lost Scott Newman and Nadeem Shahid without a run on the board, the end was only a matter of time. Jonathan Batty and James Benning resisted for a time with a pair of 47s, but the only real contest was between Akram and the rest of Essex’s bowlers. Akram had picked up all eight of Surrey’s early wickets, but Graham Napier ruined his chances of a ten-for with two wickets in three balls. Essex were left to score 49 in their second innings, and eased past the total in less than 10 overs.Kent 594 beat Warwickshire 267 and 257 by an innings and 70 runs at Canterbury
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Warwickshire’s captain Michael Powell did his best to defy gravity, but Kent nevertheless romped to an innings victory with a day to spare, to consolidate fourth place in the Frizzell County Championship. Warwickshire contrived to lose 17 wickets in the day, including 11 for 122 in the morning, as Mark Ealham’s canny medium-pace and Andrew Symonds’ liquorice allsorts sent them crashing to 55 for 4 in the follow-on. Powell refused to be suckered, and counterattacked impressively in his 110, but Warwickshire’s attitude was very end-of-termish. Their lower-order redeemed themselves to a certain extent with a batch of 20s and 30s, but the damage had already been done.Frizzell County Championship Division Two
TableNorthamptonshire 196 and 379 beat Worcestershire 172 for 8 dec and 311 by 92 runs at Wantage Road
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To the loser, the spoils. Yesterday, Worcestershire made a crafty decision to declare their first innings at eight-down, which deprived Northants of a vital bonus point and the Second Division title. But Northants did at least extract a measure of revenge with a comprehensive victory today, as their three-pronged spin attack of Jason Brown, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann twirled through the Worcestershire second innings. Brown was the pick, finishing with 5 for 89, and though Northants encountered some resistance in the lower-middle order, they were comfortable winners by 92 runs. But it is Worcestershire who take the title – by three-quarters of a point.Yorkshire 476 and 29 for 2 v Gloucestershire 344 at Headingley
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Yorkshire have no option but to win this match if they are to regain their place in the First Division, but the elements were not in their favour today. A paltry 7.5 overs were possible, in which they lost two big wickets. With a frugal lead of 161, they will be forced to go for broke tomorrow. Damien Martyn may be the key – if he can clobber a brisk half-century or better before lunch, they might yet have time to bowl Gloucestershire out on a juicy pitch. Glamorgan 270 and 464 for 8 dec beat Durham 247 and 118 by 369 runs at Chester-le-Street
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Never mind the overcrowded fixture list – Mike Kasprowicz must wish he could play against Durham every week of the year. For the second time this season, Kasprowicz bowled Glamorgan to a thumping victory over Durham, and for the second time, he picked up nine wickets in their second innings. Kasprowicz’s stunning figures of 9 for 45 in 12.5 overs did not quite outshine his 9 for 36 at Cardiff back in August, but the upshot was very much the same. Chasing an unlikely 488 for victory, Durham were reduced to 44 for 7 before Shoaib Akhtar muscled into the picture to slog 37 from 27 balls. But Kasprowicz, bowling fast, full and straight, soon sent him packing. Of his nine victims, seven were lbw or bowled, and the other two were caught by the wicketkeeper, Mark Wallace. Kasprowicz had earlier been involved in a bullish, unbeaten 93-run partnership for the tenth wicket with Darren Thomas – a foretaste of things to come.Derbyshire 317 and 160 for 4 v Hampshire 580 at Derby
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This week Derbyshire have all but lost their captain, Dominic Cork, and now they have all but lost this match – the wooden-spoon decider. Derbyshire were already up against it overnight, but by the time Hampshire’s tail had wagged along to 580 all out, they faced a first-innings deficit of 263, and near-certain defeat. James Hamblin and Shaun Udal were Derbyshire’s main tormentors with the bat – Hamblin was eventually dismissed four runs short of his maiden first-class century, while Udal contributed a brisk 57. Their problems were compounded in their reply when Andrew Gait was forced to retire hurt after being clattered in the ribs, but Michael di Venuto and Rawait Khan both scored half-centuries to steady the ship. By the close, however, Derbyshire were four wickets down, and still more than 100 runs adrift.Yesterday’s Championship review

38 overs England 198 for 5 (Collingwood 35*, Jones 25*) v Zimbabwe – Rain ended play at 5pm
Match scheduled to resume tomorrow at 10.15am
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Vikram Solanki led from the front with a mellifluous 62 as England set about their Champions Trophy campaign against Zimbabwe with some variable batting – that was before the rains came, again. The wet weather had already pushed the start back to 2pm, and then ultimately curtailed proceedings as England stumbled to 198 for 5. The match will resume tomorrow, weather permitting.England were put in to bat by Tatenda Taibu, and started brightly enough – courtesy of seven zooming wides in the opening over from 18-year-old Tinashe Panyangara, who seemed overawed by the prospect of bowling against England. Marcus Trescothick struck two scintillating fours, before his innings ended abruptly on 10 as he edged Douglas Hondo’s loose-but-bouncy delivery to first slip, playing away from his body (21 for 1).Michael Vaughan made an enterprising and entertaining start, including two majestic hooks in consecutive balls from Hondo, which flew for six. The second one brought up England’s 50 in the eighth over. But Vaughan’s disappointing one-day season continued, as Edward Rainsford invited a drive which Vaughan thick-edged to second slip (54 for 2). Rainsford, the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers, deserved his first one-day international wicket, and he later struck again to remove Andrew Strauss.Strauss and Solanki had enjoyed a useful partnership – mustering 60 runs from 62 balls – before Strauss fell for 25, trying to steer a widish delivery to third man (114 for 3). Taibu, ever alert behind the stumps, dived full-stretch to his left and Strauss was gone – and in strode Andrew Flintoff, the man of the moment.

Flintoff was fortunate to survive a first-ball lbw shout from Rainsford, but two balls later he clubbed a typical four and the crowd settled back to enjoy the ride. But, unusually for Flintoff in this, his summer of plenty, it was only to be a quick trip out. A touch over-confident, he stepped up to toe-end a full-length drive off Panyangara to deep mid-off, where Hondo was waiting to typify Zimbabwe’s superb fielding. Hondo grabbed the ball – diving – to cut short Flintoff’s journey (123 for 4).Solanki, meanwhile, continued to hold the England innings together, and brought up his fifty in fine style, with a crashing slash through backward point.He played gracefully throughout his innings, comfortably despatching anything pitched up with a series of glorious drives and well-timed shots off his legs, before eventually being trapped lbw by the part-time medium-pace of Sibanda (159 for 5).Geraint Jones then stepped in to mount some sturdy resistance with Paul Collingwood. But then, just as they were hitting their straps – and the boundary boards – the game was washed out for the day.