The bat used by Don Bradman in his first Test against England at Brisbane’s Exhibition Ground in 1928-29 has been sold at auction in Sydney to an undisclosed buyer for $58,000 (US$44,000).Bradman had a quiet match, scoring 18 and 1 as England romped to an innings victory in the series opener. For the only time in his career, Bradman was dropped, returning for the third Test at Melbourne where he scored his maiden hundred.Sir Donald donated the bat to a children’s hospital, who in turn awarded it to a schoolboy for winning in a fundraising competition.Other items to go under the hammer included a bat, glove and Ashes handkerchief of Victor Trumper, items belonging to Warwick Armstrong and WG Grace, and a signed team photo of the 1909 Australian cricket team.

A series between England and Pakistan rarely passes off without incident. In the past there has been Mike Gatting’s finger-wagging at Faisalabad, Aaqib Javed’s bouncers at Old Trafford and Saqlain Mushtaq’s missed no-balls at the same ground. More recently Shahid Afridi showed his dancing skills in the middle of the pitch last winter. That series ended 2-0 to a committed and talented Pakistan team as England’s Ashes hangover began to set in. The rematch is shaping up to be a tasty encounter.Already there have been plenty of incidents to talk about and the tour is barely two weeks old. Pakistan were less than impressed at how their warm-up match against England A developed into a meaningless draw, England have a stand-in (and third choice) captain who has just lost five ODIs on the bounce, while the pace bowlers on both sides continue to drop like flies.Pakistan have moved into second place in the rankings after England’s 1-1 draw with Sri Lanka and start the series as marginal favourites. But Inzamam-ul-Haq said England “were still a good team” before adding: “It doesn’t matter where you are in the rankings. Every series is a new series and if you play good cricket you’ll win.” And Pakistan are not at their strongest with Mohammad Asif ruled out and Shoaib Malik (elbow) and Younis Khan (knee) doubtful.”Unfortunately he hasn’t reacted properly to the injection he had so he will be out,” said Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, regarding Asif and then added about Malik: “He’s struggling. He had a cortisone injection last night so it depends what happens to it as a reaction.”However, Andrew Strauss, in his first pre-Test press conference as captain, was well aware of Pakistan’s threat. “The thing about the winter was their unpredictability. They can turn a game round in one session and you can’t afford to relax against them.”Despite the distractions of injuries and all the talk over the captaincy situation, Strauss is ready to lead his country. “The selectors have shown a lot of consistency. Fred [Flintoff] obviously captained the side very well in India and did a good job against Sri Lanka. I’ve said all long I’m very happy to do the job if other people feel I’m the right man to do it. There’s no leadership contest or anything like that.”Strauss will have to have his wits about him, the opening encounter is vital. Pakistan have been shorn of their two leading strike bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, for most of the series while Asif misses this Test. But quick bowlers – with the ability to swing the ball both ways at pace – grow on trees around the streets of Lahore and Karachi and they have solid reserves in Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul. Pakistan’s trump card, however, is Danish Kaneria who bamboozled England in the winter and will enjoy the drying pitches and extended warm spell.Despite their injury problems, Inzamam is confident in his team: “The batting is more experienced than the bowling and if we put a big score on the board we have a chance to win this game.”

England, too, are in the position – a familiar one to them – of having to patch-up their bowling attack. It’s a case of gaining one and possibly losing yet another. Steve Harmison is back but Matthew Hoggard is still a doubt and a decision won’t to be made until the final minute. With the warm weather around, Monty Panesar will have a key role. “If he [Panesar] can go at two an over in India against their batsmen, it proves he’s pretty tricky to get away,” said Strauss, “so if people do go after him, he’s got more chance of taking wickets.”Undoubtedly the strength of both sides is in the batting. If Pakistan so desire they could have Kamran Akmal as low as No. 8 although the loss of Malik and Younis would cause some problems. Salman Butt and Faisal Iqbal will come in at the top of the order if both the others are ruled out.England’s top-order oozes runs, or at least it should do. It only performed in fits-and-starts against Sri Lanka, usually relying heavily on Kevin Pietersen and Marcus Trescothick. With the captaincy armband, Strauss needs to rediscover the art of making Tests centuries while Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell are probably fighting over one spot when Flintoff returns and must convert starts into substance.It is impossible for England not to look ahead but, while the wheels have not come off the Test side in the same way as the one-day team, they are starting to look distinctly wobbly. They know the winter challenges but must forget what is happening in four months time. It is the here and now which is important and that starts at Lord’s tomorrow morning.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Alastair Cook, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Matthew Hoggard/Jon Lewis, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Monty PanesarPakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Faisal Iqbal, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Abdul Razzaq 8 Kamran Akmal (wk), 9 Mohammad Sami, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Danish Kaneria

Division One

Hampshire’s Chris Tremlett served up a timely reminder of his abilities, grabbing a six-wicket haul including two in the first over of the match – Ian Westwood and Jonathan Trott, both clean bowled. That left Warwickshire reeling at the Rose Bowl. But Mark Wagh came to their rescue with a superb 128, his second and highest century of the season. He added 173 for the third wicket with Nick Knight, who made 78, as Hampshire struggled for further inspiration in the absence of their captain, Shane Warne. Tremlett, however, was not to be denied, and returned with more wickets in his second spell, as Knight fell lbw and Alex Loudon was caught behind for 10.Sussex are on course for a big total on the first day against Durham at Hove after four of their batsmen made confident half-centuries. None has yet gone on to make a hundred, although Chris Adams remains unbeaten on 92. Richard Montgomerie and Carl Hopkinson stroked the ball around during their 140-run opening partnership before Mick Lewis removed Montgomerie and Michael Yardy in quick succession. Matt Prior batted with his customary forcefulness and pugnacity, crunching several fours as he and Adams went on the attack.A superb 172 from Darren Lehmann took Yorkshire to the heights of 302 on the opening day of their encounter against Kent at Headingley. The next highest score was from Anthony McGrath (41) as Simon Cook (5 for 38) ran through the lower-order to dismiss Yorkshire for 310. Lehmann was last man out when he fell to Min Patel; in 189 balls he hit 19 fours, clearing the boundary four times. And Yorkshire ended the day on top when Deon Kruis removed David Fulton shortly before the close.

Division Two

Andrew Caddick top scored for Somerset with a typically boisterous 68 to frustrate Glamorgan on the opening day at Taunton. After Huw Waters continued his impressive form, picking up five Somerset batsmen to leave them reeling on 227 for 8, Caddick set about the recovery to take his side to 330. He cracked nine fours and two sixes in a 10th wicket partnership spanning 44 minutes with Charl Willoughby worth 67. In reply, Glamorgan set off in a hurry with Gareth Rees and, in particular Mark Cosgrove, belting the Somerset bowling with an opening stand of 101. Willoughby and Caddick hit back, though, to remove both openers before stumps.Surrey’s batting struggled in the absence of Mark Ramprakash, who was forced to sit out of their trip to Chelmsford for personal reasons and so missed the chance to go for an incredible sixth score of 150-plus in consecutive matches. With Andy Bichel leading the charge, Essex’s bowlers tore through the top order, leaving Surrey reeling at 147 for 6, before Ian Salisbury steadied the innings from No. 7 with 74, his best score of the Championship season. He was ably supported by Neil Saker, whose 58 more than doubled his fledgling career tally. Azhar Mahmood ripped out Varun Chopra and Mervyn Westfield shortly before stumps as Essex limped to 32 for 2.Fresh from their triumph in the Twenty20 Cup, Leicestershire found their return to four-day cricket to be an arduous one, as Worcestershire’s Stephen Moore and Steven Davies made them work hard for their wickets at Grace Road. Moore made 97, and was unlucky to miss out on his first century of the season when he was bowled by Claude Henderson. Following the dismissal of Graeme Hick, Worcestershire were 121 for 4, with Stuart Broad having accounted for a possible future England team-mate, Vikram Solanki, for a seventh-ball duck. But Moore and Davies, and later Davies and Gareth Batty turned the innings around with singular resolve.

ScorecardShahid Nazir staked his claim for a spot in Pakistan’s attack for the second Test at Old Trafford with an impressive burst against Northamptonshire. His three wickets helped skittle the home side for 140 in their second innings, leaving Pakistan to chase 160 after they had declared their first innings 19 runs behind.Nazir removed Bilal Shafayat, Rikki Wessels and Usman Afzaal as Northamptonshire slumped to 43 for 5 second time around. However, that wasn’t the only damage he inflicted as a bouncer struck Sourav Ganguly in the face and forced him to retire hurt on 5.Iftikhar Anjum chipped in with a couple, including the first-innings century-maker Stephen Peters second ball, while Arshad Khan and Imran Farhat played their part with the ball with two wickets each. Ben Phillips at least ensured the Pakistanis had some sort of target to chase with a defiant 39 before being stumped off Arshad.Earlier in the day the Pakistan batsmen certainly didn’t have it all their own way. Younis Khan only added eight to his overnight 50 before being caught and bowled by David Wigley, who then added Faisal Iqbal to his haul. Wigley’s fine performance continued as the scalps of Jannisar Khan and Shahid Nazir handed him the first five-wicket haul of his career.Ganguly snared Kamran Akmal, who had again appeared in fine form before edging to third slip, but some late hitting from Iftikhar and Arshad pushed the total close to Northamptonshire’s.Salman Butt and Faisal Iqbal, the under-pressure openers, managed to negotiate the final seven overs of the day and knock off 24 from the target. The rest of the run chase shouldn’t provide too many problems on the final day.

Adam Griffith, Leicestershire’s Australian fast bowler, has been forced to return home due to a persistent ankle injury, the club has confirmed.Griffith, 28, was signed in June when Mohammad Asif joined up with the Pakistan squad for the tour to England.The injury to his left ankle ruled him out of the Twenty20 final earlier this month and last Thursday a specialist administered a cortisone injection and advised him to rest for two weeks.”It has compromised his whole delivery because he hasn’t been able to slam that foot down in the way he would have liked,” Leicestershire coach Tim Boon told the club’s website.He is now heading home in attempt to gain full fitness with Tasmania before the Australian season starts in October.It means that Leicestershire will finish the summer without an overseas player after the Pakistani leg-spinner Mansoor Amjad was ruled out of the rest of the season with a finger injury.It will, however, create opportunities for some of the county’s younger bowlers.”We have an opportunity to take a good look at some of the younger seam bowlers over the remaining few weeks of the season, which is not such a bad thing”, explained Boon.”With Stuart Broad away on England duty, there is an excellent chance for the likes of Ryan Cummins and Chris Liddle.””It is disappointing in some respects that Adam’s spell with us has ended this way, but a decision has been reached that he should return home and both parties are happy with that”

I believe that the Indian team must look to Greg Chappell to guide them through this tough tour to South Africa. Chappell has got it in him to mentally prepare this Indian team for the aggression which would come from the South Africans. We all know his background and we all know how the Australians think. Being a typical Australian, it’s in-built in him to be hard and tough.Despite a few notable wins abroad in this decade, the Indians have never been good travellers. They sometimes appear so soft and laidback that they get threatened by the aggressiveness of the Australians and the South Africans. If the players do not get rid of that attitude, they are going to get a hiding wherever they go. Chappell has a big role to play in getting the Indian team to be hard and tough. I think if he instils that attitude then India can beat any side away from home. They have the players in their ranks.I have been amused by all the criticism directed at Chappell and his experiments. Knowing how the Australians think, I feel he has been trying to take a few of the Indians out of their comfort zone, and shake those cricketers who were happy with their performces and were not willing to go the extra mile. Chappell’s experiments must have been intended to make the cricketers think on their feet. The softness and the shyness of the Indian cricketers is perhaps what he has been trying to eliminate.I feel it is important that the captain must buy into the coach’s thinking. I have played under a few of the very best captains and coaches of the world and they all tended to lead from the front. Starting with Kepler Wessels and Hansie Cronje and knowing what influence Bob Woolmer had on all of us, I am saying this from experience.Even though Rahul Dravid has appeared laidback to me, we South Africans rate him very, very highly. He is one guy we used to discuss in team meeting a lot because he always does well in South Africa. He just values his wicket so highly. So if that’s Chappell’s plans then Dravid must relay this to his team quickly. There’s little doubt in my mind that this tour is going to be very tough for him.When we come from India, we always promise ourselves that they will find it a very different story in South Africa. I don’t expect anything less this time around. I think South Africa will be very aggressive. I don’t think they will prepare green pitches. The strips in any case have been good, perhaps too good in the last four-five years. One thing South Africa might like to ensure is that pitches are not too perfect and right up India’s street.They will be very aggressive but it’s also important to channel that aggression. I think the South African bowling, in the last year and a half, has not shown the kind of patience they need to. Sometimes the skill factor has also let them down. They have depended too heavily on Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini.The Indian bowlers can all swing the ball and that’s going to be a test for the South Africans. I am not so sure about Zaheer Khan at the moment as he still looks to be trying to find his feet. He is certainly not the Zaheer Khan I know. Still, he has got great control and he swings it late. Sreesanth, though, has got lovely action, and he looks a hungry cricketer, and someone who could go a long way in the future. He seems to enjoy his cricket and appears very uncomplicated. He has an injury-free action and I am very impressed by him.

Finally, some much-needed PR for Karachi and the National Stadium: including thisTest, ten of the last eleven matches here have produced results. Whatevertalk there always is of the pitch, it manages to be overshadowedeventually by producing a winner. And provided you have thebowlers, it has always been a ground given to reverse swing, an art thatalways makes for an entertaining spectacle.Old balls have regularly been made to do remarkable things amidst theconcrete surrounds of the National Stadium. India were safe at 108 for twoin 1982-83 here, before Imran Khan skittled them for 197 after tea; onlyone of his eight victims wasn’t bowled or leg-before and if Wasim Bari,’keeper that day, is to be believed, were there corners to be navigated onthe pitch, Imran would have done so.Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis didn’t much mind Karachi either, especiallyduring the 1990-91 season. New Zealand would have felt secure at 167 forthree on the first day, though by its end and the next morning, the Ws hadmade sure their total didn’t go past 196. West Indies too disintegratedtwice suddenly in their Test here later that season, both bowlers sharing15 of the 20 wickets to fall.And Karachiites still recall Waqar’s five-wicket haul in the ODI againstthe West Indies from the same tour: chasing 212 from 40 overs, DesmondHaynes and Richie Richardson had a handle on the situation with a 138-runpartnership for the second wicket. The return of Waqar, after a spankingin his first spell, brought a swift, spectacular end, 139 for one ending205 for seven.There have been more, but why does battered leather take to Karachi somuch? For such a little-understood phenomenon, answers are understandablyvague. But ex-cricketers, Wasim and Waqar among them, point first to thesea breeze that filters in from the coast roughly15km south. Drierconditions and traditionally rough outfields have always helped, ensuringthat reverse swing is always a factor at the ground.Waqar, now bowling coach, worked especially with Umar Gul and Shahid Nazirbefore the match, with a scuffed up ball, knowing it would play a part. Inhindsight, it was a handy session, for at various junctures through theTest, the old ball told. Not as extravagantly as it has been known to, butenough. On the second day, Gul winked out three top-order batsmen in 11balls, Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan castled by deliveries that swungbig and late. In essence, if the Test wasn’t decided during that period,it was set up.And for stretches of the last day, it appeared as if only some old ballmagic would sweep aside what periodically threatened to be stoutresistance, especially as clouds gathered and the light faded. It didn’twork out that way entirely thanks to Danish Kaneria – leg-spin beinganother of the ground’s old, enjoyable weaknesses – but Gul fracturing awell-set Sarwan’s foot in the morning was a moment as important as it wasunfortunate. In tandem with Nazir and Abdul Razzaq, all others weretroubled if not dismissed.It wasn’t hurled at the pace it has been known to be delivered at andneither was the parabola it cut as much a banana as it can be. Andultimately the old ball really had only Razzaq’s time-honoured tail-endremoval to show at the death. But swing it always did and the atmospherewas forever pregnant with its threat. Lara acknowledged later that this particularability was especially handy. “Gul, Nazir and even Razzaq all swung theball late. On such dry pitches and in such conditions, it is an addedadvantage to be able to do it.”Reverse swing, leg-spin, a cool sea breeze, permanently bright weather andnow 21 Pakistan wins out of 38: as advertising goes, selling points forvenues don’t get much better than that.

The issue of a bowling coach for the Indian team, a cause championed by Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, will be discussed by the Indian board at its working committee meeting on December 23, after consulting the coach and the captain. This means if a coach is to be appointed, it will not happen during the current series in South Africa.Vengsarkar has been pushing the case and recently took it upon himself to speak about it with Sharad Pawar, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). While it is not unusual for a selector to make suggestions of this kind, it is uncommon that they be made public at a press conference, as Vengsarkar did.”The bowling attack is a bit inexperienced and may require guidance,” Vengsarkar told Cricinfo, when asked about the rationale behind his thinking. When asked if this was perhaps too close to the World Cup to bring in a bowling coach, his response was: “So? All the more reason why it is important, isn’t it?”However, it will be hard for him to push his case elsewhere. Neither coach Greg Chappell nor captain Rahul Dravid have come out in favour of a full-time bowling coach for the team; the duties are currently performed by Chappell’s deputy Ian Frazer.The BCCI, too, is unlikely to jump at Vengsarkar’s suggestion and make an appointment immediately, it was learned. “It is a suggestion that has come forward from the chairman of selectors, but it is not something we can take a decision on unilaterally,” a top BCCI official told Cricinfo. “We will have to consult the coach and the captain and see what their views are on the subject. Then we will discuss the matter at the working committee meeting.”Vengsarkar has a supporter, though, in Kiran More, his predecessor as chairman of selectors. “It’s a good idea to have a bowling coach,” he told Cricinfo. “The board should have had appointed one earlier though, maybe a year ago. Now it may be too close to the World Cup to appoint someone new.”When asked if it was the role of the chairman of selectors to put forth suggestions of this kind, More said, “Suggestions are always given from former cricketers, whether they are selectors or not. It’s then up to the board to do what it feels is correct.”What Vengsarkar’s statements have done is to set off a chain reaction among potential candidates with several former cricketers putting their hands up. One of the first to do so was Venkatesh Prasad, the former India fast bowler. “You cannot mess around with technique at the highest level”, Prasad had told Cricinfo on the sidelines of Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy match at Mysore soon after Vengsarkar’s statements were made public. Prasad has completed the Level III coaching program and is currently working with the Karnataka team.TA Sekar, the former Tamil Nadu and India fast bowler – who has been heading the MRF Pace Foundation’s program in Chennai since 1987, working closely with Dennis Lillee, the former Australian fast-bowling great – was also in contention for the job, according to information received by Cricinfo.From time to time India has had former fast bowlers sharing their expertise with the team, as Andy Roberts did in West Indies, and later Jeff Thompson in Kuala Lumpur. The only time India used a bowling coach over any length of time was when they toured Australia in 2003-04, when Bruce Reid, the former Australian left-arm fast bowler, was appointed to work with the team.

After the Table-Mountain high of the opening day, it was a case of themorning after for most of the Indians. A promising position was squanderedwith the bat, and an erratic bowling performance then allowed Graeme Smithand Hashim Amla to build up some real momentum in the closing stages ofplay.Dinesh Karthik played his part behind the stumps, and will certainly havea bigger role to play once Anil Kumble settles in on a pitch that alreadyhas significant rough patches. For the moment though, he can reflect onhis opening-day display, a doughty four-hour innings that spanned 170balls and realised 63 runs. A poor decision ended it, but by then, Karthikand Wasim Jaffer had already added 153 for the first wicket, the bestopening stand by any team against South Africa in more than two years.”It was very challenging opening the innings and playing great bowlerslike Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini,” said Karthik, speaking after thesecond day’s play at Newlands. “To get off to a good start boosted myconfidence and my self-esteem.”Though the pitch bore more resemblance to the ones that he left behindback home, opening was still a stiff test of Karthik’s technique,especially when it came to choosing which balls to play. “As an opener,it’s important that you trust your technique because if you feel there’s aproblem, you might not be able to handle good balls,” he said. “You’ve gotto trust your technique if you want to bat out a session. It’s not an easything to do but hopefully, I’ll keep getting better.”

When the series began, the prospect of opening in Cape Town would havebeen far from his mind, given that there were three specialist openers inthe squad. But with Virender Sehwag’s poor form forcing him down theorder, and Gautam Gambhir short of match practice, it was left to Karthikto face the new-ball flak with Jaffer. “The night before the game, RahulDravid told me to be prepared, saying: ‘You might be asked to open’. So,when he told me the next morning that I’d be opening, I was prepared.”According to Karthik, there had been no doubts in his mind when he wasasked to do the job, nor was there a feeling that he was being made asacrificial lamb. “It’s important to be a team man,” he said. “At the endof the day, you have to do what the team wants you to do. That’s how wehave been brought up; not to play selfish cricket.”For a man playing his first Test in over 15 months, he certainly camethrough the ordeal with reputation enhanced. The hard work starts now. Thefirst step can often be fuelled by adrenaline, but an encore needs farmore strength of character.

Shane Watson is confident he’ll be fit for the World Cup as he tries to put the disappointment of missing the Ashes series behind him. He’d been penciled in to take the No. 6 role before breaking down ahead of the first Test at Brisbane and when he re-injured himself in a domestic one-day match he was ruled out of the series.His place initially went to Michael Clarke and when Damien Martyn retired following the Adelaide Test Andrew Symonds was drafted in, cracking his maiden Test century at the MCG. However, Watson now wants to move on and focus on the challenges ahead.”It’s a massive opportunity missed,” he told the . “Roy’s [Symonds] performances have definitely taken the opportunity away from me, but there is a changing of the guard and hopefully I will get my chance at Test level.”If there is an opportunity I will be raring to go. The main thing is I still believe in myself. I feel a lot more comfortable in international cricket, but when you get injured you leave the door open for other people.”Watson is aiming to return to action later in January and be available for the latter part of the Commonwealth Bank Series. Australia then have a three-match Chappell-Hadlee series in New Zealand before the World Cup.”That is my goal now, to make sure I’m right to be picked for the World Cup,” Watson said. “This has been the most frustrating injury of my career. It should have been only three or four weeks but it’s dragged on and on.”