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Twin bomb blasts in Lahore on Thursday posed no threat to Australia A’s on-going tour, according to a senior Pakistan cricket official. “We have met Australia officials and assured them of a safe tour,” the board’s general manager, Zakir Khan, told .The two explosions killed six people and injured more than 30 others. Australia A, who earlier lost the two-match series 1-0, were due to play the first of three one-day matches in Lahore on Friday and the remaining two on September 25 and 27.”We have shifted Friday’s match from Bagh-e-Jinnah to Gaddafi Stadium because of rain and it has nothing to do with security,” said Khan. Australia A’s manager Bernard Robertson agreed the tour would continue. “Cricket will go on and we have a match on Friday,” Robertson told . “I don’t have any further comment to make.”Pakistan host England for three Tests and five ODIs from October 26 and the ECB has already refused to play a Test in the port city of Karachi. The ECB has said it would monitor security in Pakistan before the tour begins.

After wrapping up the entire match in just 31.5 overs, Australia’s captain, Ricky Ponting, was in a feisty mood at the post-match press conference. Paul Coupar heard what both captains had to say:

Do you get anything out of this match?
Not as far as we’re concerned. We don’t get a whole lot out of that game. Hopefully the USA boys did get something out of it otherwise it’s a waste of time. I’ve been pretty strong in saying this before – I’m not convinced a Champions Trophy or a World Cup is the place for these sides to play. We’d like to see the game develop over there in the USA. Obviously it’s a huge market for cricket. But we want to be tested as players all the time and I don’t think we were tested too much day.But don’t the small sides need these games to learn from?
What they have to do first is to be a dominant team for a longer period of time in the group lower than this level. What we’ve seen in the last couple of World Cups and Champions Trophies is that different teams every time qualified. It’s whoever plays well in that one little qualifying tournament who comes up. If a team that dominates over a longer period of time comes up [into the World Cup or Champions Trophy] then you’ll know you’ve got a stronger side.What was your strategy today?
The whole idea of the game for us was to win the toss and send them in. Then bowl them out cheaply, go in and get the runs quickly to get our run-rate up above New Zealand’s – in case weather intervenes in our game with them later this week. We’ve achieved that, I think, so we’ve got what we could out of the game.USA captain, Richard Staple
What’s it like in your dressing room?
I just told them we have to keep our heads up high because we were playing against the best team in the world. It is the best attack in the world so we weren’t looking to go out and blast these guys about. And they didn’t give us anything to blast anyway.We learned from the way these guys play and that was our main objective. We didn’t realistically expect to beat these teams.When did you start to fear the worst?
Obviously the batting. We didn’t really get a start at all.And when are you back to the day job?
Next week.

Two additions have been made today to the South Australia squad for 2003-04 that was announced earlier this month.Outstanding grade performances by Northern Districts fast bowler Chris Duval and batting allrounder Ben Cameron from Tea Tree Gully have seen them awarded rookie contracts for the next summer. They will join two other rookies, Callum Ferguson and Trent Kelly, and the 15 senior-contracted players in new State coach Wayne Phillips’ squad.Duval, 19, made his mark in the A-grade competition last summer by taking 31 wickets at 19.74. He was included in this year’s Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy intake and is in his second six-week session with the Academy at the moment.Cameron, 22, won the Hargrave Trophy last season for being judged the best A-grade player under 23. He averaged 51.80 with the bat, including a highest score of 109 not out, and with his medium-pace bowling he took 18 wickets at 17.06.South Australia Cricket Association general manager of cricket operations Harvey Jolly said the selection of Duval and Cameron showed there were still opportunities available for grade cricketers in South Australia.”Chris and Ben have been playing in the grade cricket competition for anumber of years and both have risen up through the various grade levels.Their selection into the Redbacks squad shows how the grade cricketsystem acts as a springboard into the State team for those players whohave the talent and perform,” he said.The Redbacks squad for 2003-04 is: Greg Blewett, Ryan Harris, Ben Cameron (rookie contract), Mark Higgs, Mark Cleary, Ben Johnson, Mark Cosgrove, Darren Lehmann (ACB contract), Chris Davies, Graham Manou, John Davison, Mick Miller, Shane Deitz, Paul Rofe, Chris Duval (rookie contract), Shaun Tait, David Fitzgerald, Callum Ferguson (rookie contract), Andy Flower, Trent Kelly (rookie contract), Jason Gillespie (ACB contract).

Tasmanian captain Ricky Ponting posted his highest domestic one-day score to lead the Tigers to a bonus point victory over Western Australia at the WACA tonight.Ponting continued his gluttonous start to the summer by smashing 102, helping the Tigers to 5-196 one ball into the 40th over.Shaun Young (28no) and Jamie Cox (2no) steered the Tigers past WA’s 6-195 with five balls to spare before the cut-off for the bonus point.Ponting’s previous best was an unbeaten 87 against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 1995-96.His knock included 13 fours and two sixes and came off just 98 deliveries.Ponting’s impressive early season augurs well for the upcoming Test and one-day series against New Zealand and South Africa.But an injury to Australian team mate Damien Martyn has given the national selectors an anxious wait with the Test series just two weeks away.Martyn hurt his thigh during a gutsy 108 run knock for WA.He struggled for 190 minutes before holing out to Jamie Cox off David Saker in a bid to chase quick runs, needing a runner for his final six overs.The Australian number six played a lone hand in the Warriors’ innings of 6-195 and faces a fitness test tomorrow before being considered for selection for the Pura Cup clash between the teams starting here on Friday.Despite centuries to the two internationals, Tigers paceman Damien Wright earned man of the match honours for a controlled ten-over spell that netted 2-22.The Warriors looked set to make a massive total when Adam Gilchrist and Martyn clubbed twenty off the first two overs.But that’s as long as the blazing start lasted before Tasmania struck back.Wright removed Simon Katich and Adam Gilchrist for five each and Saker also claimed Justin Langer for one.Ponting praised Wright’s efforts after the match describing it as the ideal one-day spell.”I thought our bowlers were brilliant today, Wright and Saker early were pretty good,” he said.”Damien Wright bowled as good as he basically can bowl.”He bowled a lot of balls to Marto (Martyn), whose a world class player and a lot of those were dot balls.”Ponting also admitted it was good to have finally notched a century in domestic one-day cricket.”I’ve got a pretty ordinary record in domestic cricket actually,” he said.”That was my first hundred tonight so that was pretty satisfying.”

Worcestershire have indicated their willingness to help should England decide they want to turn Moeen Ali into a Test opener in the UAE.Moeen has already said he would be open to the idea and Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, told the club website – perhaps with a view to ensuring Moeen’s availability after the ODI series with Australia – that a move up the order could be accommodated.Although Moeen’s involvement in England’s limited-overs squads means he won’t be available for Worcestershire’s next Championship game, against Sussex, he could appear in the final two rounds, should the ECB grant permission. Worcestershire are fighting to stave off relegation but Rhodes said they could see their way to using Moeen as an opener if requested.”With Moeen playing in the one-dayers, that would take him right up to the brink of the last two games against Durham and Middlesex,” Rhodes said.”There is talk in the media that England may try and open the batting with him in Dubai against Pakistan. If that is the case, it seems logical that maybe we can help that out. If England requested him to open the batting, then we can accommodate that.”The failure of Adam Lyth against Australia – he averaged 12.77 with a highest score of 37 – means England are likely to look at alternatives for the three-Test series against Pakistan. Moeen was deployed at No. 8 during the Ashes, though he is a top-order player for his county and has not hidden his desire to bat higher for England.While offering sympathy to Lyth, Moeen admitted in his ECB blog that he would not be averse to opening in Tests, having done so to good effect for England in limited-overs cricket.”I would love to be batting back up the order, because coming in at No. 8 it was already 80 for 6 or something like that,” Moeen wrote. “Before the series I thought to myself that the best thing I could do was be consistent and hopefully push myself up. I feel I’ve done that, and I was last man out in both innings at The Oval.”I certainly wouldn’t mind opening, in Tests as well as white-ball cricket – even though I’ve never done it in first-class cricket, I have in the second team as well as in one-day stuff with Worcestershire and England.”But I feel a bit bad talking about that because of Adam Lyth. It’s probably the hardest job in cricket, opening the batting, especially in the Ashes, and he must be so frustrated because I always thought he looked all right against the new ball – he just couldn’t go past getting those starts.”

West Zone proceeded cautiously to end the second day on 174 for 5 off 76overs against North Zone as heavy fog prevented play till the afternoon forthe second day running in their Duleep Trophy match at the Punjab CA groundin Mohali on Friday.Resuming at 67 for 1, Hrishikesh Kanitkar (61) and Wasim Jaffer (39) tookthe score to 100. Jaffer was the first to return to the pavilion, caught byA Chopra off Aashish Nehra in 45th over of the innings. Jacob Martin (17)then joined Kanitkar and the two took the score to 155. Martin was thenext to go, trapped leg before by RS Sodhi off the second ball of the 61stover.Five balls later Kanitkar followed Martin to the pavilion. By the time hefell to a catch by Chopra off Surendra Singh, Kanitkar had been at thecrease for 227 minutes and faced 145 balls and hit ten fours. New batsmanAbijeet Kale battled for well over an hour to score just six runs off 41balls. Kale fell just before stumps, for a catch by Pankaj Dharmani offAasish Nehra. Niraj Patel (11) then accompanied his skipper Nayan Mongia(1) back to the pavilion at the end of the day.

Leicestershire have signed South Africa pair Boeta Dippenaar and Garnett Kruger on two-year deals. Dippenaar joins as the club’s one overseas player while Kruger comes on a Kolpak deal after a stint at Grace Road in 2007.Dippenaar is currently out of the South African team, but recently captained the A side in India and started the new South African domestic season in fine style with 115 against the Dolphins.”Boeta will add energy and much-needed experience to the batting line-up with the added option of moving him up the order in the one-day game,” said coach Tim Boon. “Kruger is fit and strong, and still has his best cricket years ahead of him, given his age and the fact that he has not been over bowled.”It is important that we have an experienced senior strike bowler capable of bowling hostile spells to place the opposition on the back foot. Garnett showed his worth in his stint with the county in 2007 and has started well with the Lions in South Africa.”The signings are a timely boost for Leicestershire after they lost John Sadler to Derbyshire.

The Indian board (BCCI) has announced certain initiatives aimed at more effectively marketing domestic cricket in the country. There will be live coverage of domestic games on television and the premier tournaments have been rebranded to enhance spectator interest.In a press conference at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai, the BCCI, inassociation with Nimbus Communications Limited, announced that up to 70days of live cricket will be shown on television, starting with the Challenger Series in Chennai on October 1. Other coverage includes the Irani Trophy, finals of the Duleep Trophy, select matches of the Elite division of the Ranji Trophy and the one-day knockout tournament, and all matches of the Deodhar Trophy.Lalit Modi, the BCCI’s vice-president, said that the initiatives will revolutionise the way cricket is followed in India, allowing fans to track the performances of fringe players. “It has been our long-awaited dream to bring domestic cricket to the fans,” he said. “For the first time in India, we will have up to 70 days of live cricket in India. We intend to make domestic cricket events on par with other successful domestic brands in the world. We are on the brink of a revolution.”The Challenger Series, like last year’s edition, will be telecast live in the UKthrough Sky Sports, Fox Sports in Australia, Super Sport in Africa, Astroin Malaysia and on the internet through Willow TV.Most of the domestic schedules have been reconfigured – more than 80% of the one-day matches will be day/night fixtures to ensure greater participation of star players – while the main tournaments have been renamed.The Challenger trophy has been renamed Challenger Series for the NKP Salve Trophy. The Elite division of the Ranji Trophy – the premier domestic tournament – will be known as Super League for the Ranji Trophy, while the Plate Division will be known as the Plate League. The Ranji Trophy one-day tournament – the inter-state knockout tournament – will be known as the Premier Cup, while the inter-zonal one-day Deodhar Trophy will be known as the All Star Series for the Deodhar Trophy. However, the plans for the proposed Twenty20 tournament next year will be discussed by the board later.The marketing of the Challenger trophy held at Mohali in 2005 had set aprecedent, and Harish Thawani, the chairman of Nimbus, highlighted its success, with viewer ratings high enough to rival international games and leading entertainment shows. IS Bindra, marketing committee member of the BCCI and the driving force behind the tournament, felt that it is imperative that domestic cricket in India gets the attention it deserves, similar to the massive spectator turn-outs in England.”One of the failings of the board on previous occasions was that domesticcricket was not marketed at all,” said Bindra. “We hope to make a freshstart this time. I see no reason why we can’t replicate it the same way ithappens in England, where tickets for competition finals are sold well inadvance. With television exposure we should see more emerging stars.”Thawani concurred with Bindra, but cautioned against over-expectations. “We cannot expect overnight success,” he said. “We will be a full season away from measuring the impact.” Nimbus, which paid $612 million to secure the telecast rights of cricket in India till 2010, will begin its coverage with the launch of its new sports channel Neo Sports.On the issue of foreign players participating in domestic cricket, Modi stated that a formal approval from the BCCI is awaited when the Working Committee meets. Jermaine Lawson, the West Indies fast bowler, has reportedly agreed to play for Maharashtra this season.

Two leading British politicians have written to the ICC requesting that Zimbabwe be kicked out of international cricket because of the country’s rapidly deteriorating human rights situation.Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, and Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, wrote to the ICC after a film from Amnesty International highlighted the plight of those affected by President Mugabe’s slum clearance programme Operation Murambatsvina – which translates as “drive out rubbish” – has left an estimated 700,000 people homeless.”What we are trying to do now is ratchet up the pressure on the ICC, who have the power to act to change their rules,” said a source at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. ‘”The situation according to the foreign office is getting significantly worse. Tessa feels it’s right that government isn’t seen to be sitting back and letting this happen.”Kate Hoey, the former sports minister who has actively campaigned against England playing cricket against Zimbabwe, said that Straw had become more hardline in recent weeks. “‘Cricket gives us an opportunity. A ban sends a message out that Zimbabwe is not a normal country in any sense.”The letter, which was leaked to The Observer, is said to ask the ICC to waive fines against countries who decide to boycott matches against Zimbabwe. “We would now like to ask if the ICC could reflect on the current situation and take a view on whether or not they see international cricket fixtures against and/or in Zimbabwe to be appropriate while such widespread human rights abuses are taking place.”

Last November, England played four ODIs in Zimbabwe, despite polls showing most people thought they were wrong to go. The overriding reason for the England board’s decision was fear that it would be severely fined by the ICC if it stayed away. Asked at the time whether moral issues should feature and whether matches against Zimbabwe should go ahead, David Morgan, the ECB’s chairman, said they should not, adding that “otherwise world cricket would grind to a halt”.The British government was criticised for not stopping the tour, but ministers pointed out that they could not ban a side from travelling.The latest approach to the ICC follows similar requests from the New Zealand and Australian governments. While the ICC has steadfastly maintained a stance that Zimbabwe’s politics are not a factor in any decision on the country’s international status, it is coming under increasing pressure to take some action. Yesterday’s newspaper revelations that President Mbeke of South Africa has tired of trying to find a diplomatic solution to Zimbabwe’s problems could further add to that pressure.Add into the equation that Zimbabwe’s recent performances on the field have been woefully poor, and it seems inconceivable that the issue will not be high on the agenda when the ICC executive meets in Dubai next week.

On a confidence-high after a match-winning 104 against Pakistan at Lord’s, Andrew Symonds is vocal in his belief that Australia’s experience with English conditions would help their Champions Trophy campaign.Symonds, an experienced campaigner in county cricket, played for two counties, and one of his more memorable knocks came for Gloucestershire: a 202-ball 252 with 16 sixes. And with Australians being the flavour of choice for most county teams, Glenn McGrath, Michael Kasprowicz, Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke have played in England – all with a degree of success.The intricate knowledge of English conditions would work to their advantage, said Symonds, and hinted that their lack of success in previous editions of the tournament would motivate the players. “Playing county cricket helped me develop as a player greatly,” AFP quoted Symonds as saying. “The best way to learn how to play cricket is in a match situation and playing county cricket really helped me out.”You can be hitting it well in the nets, and that gives you confidence, but the only way you know where you are is by playing cricket. The opportunity is there for most of our cricketers, depending on availability, to play for the counties.” The chances have certainly been taken: 11 of the 14-man squad for the Champions Trophy have played county cricket.Symonds was hopeful of a good showing in the million-dollar tournament. “There is a lot at stake here and the boys are a bit embarrassed that we have not achieved anything in this competition. But we are going to give this one a good blast and hopefully achieve that.”He was guarded about facing New Zealand, whom he said Australia have “had some great games with”, and was cautious about the motley crew from the USA. “The United States will have a few bring-ins so they will have some good players there, some very capable cricketers and it is not a game to be taken lightly. We expect to win but we still have to go out there and play.”The Champions Trophy begins on September 10, and Australia begin their campaign on the 13th, against the USA, before playing New Zealand three days later.