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Shoaib protests his innocence

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Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have been asked to return to Pakistan © AFP

Shoaib Akhtar has protested his innocence, after it was revealed he had tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Nandrolone, during an internal dope test carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board.”I cannot say much at this time about what has happened but I just want to assure everyone that I am innocent of doing anything I shouldn’t have,” Shoaib told bigstarcricket.com. “The President of Pakistan has asked me not to comment in any detail at this stage and I want to respect his wishes, so I will keep my message short.”All I can say is that I have not knowingly taken any performance-enhancing drugs and would never cheat my team-mates or opponents in this way. I have always played the game fair and I give 100 percent and do not feel that I need to take drugs to help my bowling.”Shoaib, along with his team-mate, Mohammad Asif, has already been sent home from the Champions Trophy, leaving the Pakistan squad in further disarray, following the chaos that surrounded the appointment of Younis Khan as stand-in captain earlier in the month. “I am gutted to be missing the Champions Trophy,” added Shoaib,” and I will return to Pakistan to see what has happened and what needs to be done.”His pleas of innocence were backed up by a statement from his private doctor, Tauseef Razzaq, a reputed physiotherapist and sports medicine specialist, who told AFP that the positive test results probably stemmed from the medicines he had been taking to aid his recovery from injury.”Akhtar is definitely innocent and I can vouch for him,” said Tauseef. “He doesn’t know anything about medicines, and since he recently suffered ankle and knee injuries, he must have taken some medicines which are painkillers but come under the banned substances.”Dr Razzaq was hired by Shoaib in 2004, a move which attracted criticism from the PCB. He added that Shoaib had returned two negative tests, at the Champions Trophy in England two years ago and after the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.”Akhtar is so valuable a cricketer and is conscious of the fact,” said Razzaq, “so I don’t think he would take anything intentionally. Since he bowls at a venomous pace he also knew he would always be a target for a dope test.”

Langer fights to crack swinging dilemma

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Andrew Flintoff finds a way through Justin Langer at Edgbaston © Getty Images

Justin Langer admits Australia’s batsmen haven’t cracked the troubling reverse-swing puzzle, but Ricky Ponting has confirmed the side has developed strategies to nullify its damaging effects. England’s pace bowlers have mastered the movement of the older ball and have embarrassed Michael Clarke and Simon Katich into leaving deliveries hitting their stumps, and confused the rest.Langer said the movement caused the batsmen to change from instinctive play to using a shorter back-lift as they coped with the restricted scoring options. “We definitely haven’t cracked it,” Langer said in the . “There is a lot of discussion going on. This is like a new little puzzle we have to solve. When we do crack it, it will be a very satisfying feeling. I think we are getting close.”Writing in his column in , Ponting said his players were working hard in the nets to improve. “We’ve already come up with some strategies to make sure we practise against it as much as we can,” he wrote. “If you look at when most of the wickets have fallen, it’s been between overs ten and 30 which is just after the lacquer comes of the ball and it starts reversing.”Ponting said it was important to survive the early stages because after that “it’s not so bad”. “The hardest thing about facing reverse-swing bowling is the pace it’s delivered at because then it tends to swing a lot later,” he said. “When it’s swinging late at 145kph it’s pretty difficult to play and we’ve only got one guy – Brett Lee – who can do that. We have to make sure we’re bowling him at the right times.”

Atapattu stars as Sri Lanka win

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Scorecard

South Africa’s bowlers put in a determined effort, but Marvan Atapattu showed tremendous character to take Sri Lanka through to victory© AFP

Just when it looked as if South Africa might be about to turn around a wretched losing streak, with Sri Lanka showing signs of panic for the first time in the series, Marvan Atapattu produced an inspirational captain’s innings. With hios side chasing 192, Atapattu finished on 97 not out, and guided Sri Lanka to a tense four-wicket victory, and an unassailable 3-0 lead to clinch the series – Sri Lanka’s first against South Africa.South Africa had started brightly. The toss was won and Herschelle Gibbs was given an early reprieve. Chaminda Vaas roared his lbw appeal triumphantly but, contrary to television replays that showed Gibbs to be palpably plumb, Billy Bowden kept his finger down. But after 12 nervy balls without scoring, Gibbs finally found the middle of the bat. A short-arm punch through the covers and an audacious pull-sweep behind square off Vaas set him on his way.Graeme Smith, who never looked convincing, helped add 44 for the first wicket before spooning a chance to mid-on, where Sanath Jayasuriya snaffled a fine diving catch. Lance Klusener, the latest pinch-hitter at No. 3, failed to fire, but Jacques Kallis knuckled down for a hardworking 52 from 108 balls. When South Africa reached the 40-over mark on 142 for 3, a respectable total was on the cards.But when they tried to push down the accelerator, it all went pear-shaped. First, Jacques Rudolph (18) was bowled trying to reverse-sweep a straight one from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Soon after, Kallis was caught behind off Rangana Herath as he tried to pummel a cover-drive. Suddenly, South Africa were 147 for 5, with two new batsmen at the crease.Gradually, the spinners picked their way through the middle order: Mark Boucher drove to short cover, Shaun Pollock top-edged a sweep, J-P Duminy was trapped lbw, again sweeping, Alan Dawson skied into the deep, and Nicky Boje was stumped. South Africa had lost seven wickets for 47 runs.

Jacques Kallis made a half-century, but unlike Atapattu, did not press on far beyond that© AFP

Herath, competing with Kaushal Lokuarachchi for the last place in Sri Lanka’s Champions Trophy squad, played the most crucial part, dismissing Gibbs, Kallis and Boucher. Picked ahead of a third fast bowler, as Sri Lanka read the pitch correctly, Herath finished with 3 for 28. Dilshan, struggling with a swollen ankle that needs frequent ice treatment, chipped in for the second successive game and mopped up the tail to finish with 3 for 25.South Africa’s fast bowlers came out fighting after another lame batting display, and gave their team a glimmer of hope when the two openers were whipped out cheaply. Dawson pinned Avishka Gunawardene (7) lbw with a delivery that pitched in line and would have flattened off stump (7 for 1).At the other end, Pollock was striding in purposefully under the bright lights. Bowling a full length, he was wobbling the new ball a smidgen and hitting the pitch hard. He surprised Sanath Jayasuriya (11) with some extra bounce, and Gibbs swallowed an easy chance in the gully (34 for 2). The breakthrough brought up Pollock’s 300th one-day wicket, in his 217th match. He became the seventh bowler in history to reach the landmark, and continued to threaten throughout an eight-over spell, finishing with 1 for 18.His replacement, Boje, South Africa’s only slow bowler, dampened the spirits of the festival crowd just after the drinks break when Kumar Sangakkara, not for the first time on the tour, got in a pickle with his footwork against Boje and was stumped down the leg side for 14 (65 for 3). Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene (21) settled the dressing-room for a while, adding 46 in 75 balls.But the arrival of Duminy, a part-time offspinner, sparked a late-innings wobble, and revived South African hopes of a dramatic turnaround. First, Jayawardene was bowled through the gate, and then, Dilshan’s stumps were splayed by a grubber from Klusener (126 for 5). A nervy contribution from Upul Chandana, who could have been dismissed twice before he finally chipped a simple catch to midwicket, left Sri Lanka under serious pressure at 145 for 60.However, with Sri Lanka needing 46 from 54 balls, on a slow-paced pitch that was growing increasingly inconsistent in bounce, Atapattu punctured the pressure with a brace of boundaries off Klusener. Vaas, cheered to the crease like a gladiator by the boisterous crowd in the grandstand, also held his nerve and played positively. Had Kallis held a difficult diving catch in the deep off Vaas, Sri Lanka might still have been in trouble, but Atapattu finished the job with 14 balls to spare.

Bangladesh eke out thrilling victory

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Bangladesh set themselves up for the daunting task of a Test series against Australia with a thrilling victory over the Commonwealth Bank Academy at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane. Set 230 to win, they overcame a mid-innings wobble to eke home with just six minutes, and two wickets, to spare.Mohammad Ashraful anchored the innings with a classy 61, while Alok Kapali chipped in with a pugnacious 44. But it was the two senior men, the Khaleds – Mashud and Mahmud – who did the damage late on with some adventurous shotmaking. Both made 28, and Mahmud – the captain – finished things off with a four over mid-on.The result was set up by the academy declaring their innings at 203 for 4 earlier in the day. Resuming at 99 for 4, Aaron Nye and Callum Ferguson were largely untroubled in the morning session. Nye hit three big sixes and was unbeaten on 89 when the declaration came, with Ferguson not out on 48.Bangladesh started poorly, with Mark Cleary nipping out both Javed Omar and Habibul Bashar early in the innings. Ashraful put the innings back on track, but his dismissal – caught behind off Steven Magoffin – left Bangladesh in dire straits at 134 for 5. But Kapali, Mashud and Mahmud then combined to see it home, upping the run-rate to decisive effect after a period of consolidation. For the Academy, Peter Worthington took 3 for 31.The declarations were pivotal in ensuring a result, but Bangladesh won’t care too much. For a team starved of any sort of success, even against the likes of Canada, this is a massive shot in the arm. Mind you, it’s Australia that await just up the road.

Keith Parsons – Top Dog!

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My memories of a fantastic day -1st September 2001Saturday 1st September finally arrives and we are all excited to be back at Lords, eager to put the Final of 2 years ago behind us and at last bring back some silverware to ‘trophy-starved’ Taunton.On completing another strenuous warm-up, we retire to the changing room and are pleased that under a clear blue sky, Jamie wins the toss and elects to bat.Our openers got us off to a great start, buoyed by the huge roars which came from the stands for every run Somerset scored. The mood in the dressing room was already quite positive, although we all feel for Scott Boswell, obviously struggling to find his rhythm.Contributions from all the batters meant a total of 250 looked within reach. Rob and I were stifi together as the final overs began and we wanted to take full advantage of the situation and we quickly gathered good momentum. To reach a total of 271, and having personally hit the final 2 balls for 6, taking me to 60 not out, was an achievement beyond my wildest dreams but we still had a long way to go.Deep down, we all knew that Afridi, whilst being an incredibly dangerous player, was going to give us an early chance, and sure enough he did. Thankfully, it went straight In the safe hands of Rob Turner.This was the boost that we needed at the start of the Leicestershire innings, and although they had some useful partnerships, we got wickets at important times right up to that ‘magical moment’ when Steffan knocked over Scott Boswell’s leg stump – let the celebrations begin were the cries!Personally my day got even better when I learned the news that I had won the ‘Man of the Match’ accolade and I duly went to collect it from our former coach, Dermot Reeve.The lap of honour was an opportunity for us to say a big ‘thank you’ to all those loyal Somerset fans who made the trip up to Lords and had supported us through the not-so-good times.It really was a ‘dream day’ that I, the rest of the team, and all those who witnessed the excitement at Lords, will remember for many years.Here’s to retaining the trophy in 2002! Also I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who kindly sent me congratulations letters and cards, they were all greatly appreciated.

Bravo fights after record Voges-Marsh stand

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:13

Nicholas: Bravo grabbed his opportunity to perform

First, there is Don Bradman and Bill Ponsford. Then comes Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh. Such is the list of all-time Test record partnerships for Australia after Voges and Marsh put on 449 against an insipid West Indies in Hobart. It was the highest fourth-wicket stand in Test history, and the sixth-biggest of the near 70,000 Test partnerships that have ever been compiled. By only two runs did the 451-run Bradman-Ponsford stand against England at The Oval in 1934 survive in first place among Australian partnerships.Those are the facts, but here is the truth: it would have been criminally misleading for Voges and Marsh to have moved into top spot. In terms of size it was Australia’s second-greatest partnership, in terms of quality it was not even close. That is no slight on Voges and Marsh but on the class of the bowling. In Adelaide last month their fourth-innings stand was 400 runs lighter, but arguably more meaningful as they held off the swing of Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell to set up victory.Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Jason Holder – they have all delivered at Test level before. Here they went through the motions. And to paraphrase Dorothy Parker on Katharine Hepburn, it was the gamut of motions from A to B. Amble in with little intent, bowl with no apparent plan, walk back to the mark, repeat. Too many half-volleys, too many on the pads, too many boundary balls. Too many fielders back, too many easy singles. Too many runs, too few efforts to stop them.For most of Australia’s innings this Test had the intensity of a tour game. By stumps little had changed as the West Indies batting order largely collapsed, but at least there was one significant positive for them. Darren Bravo was on the verge of a century. Bravo had moved to 94 and had enjoyed solid support from Kemar Roach, who was on 31, and their partnership had moved along to 91 and was frustrating Steven Smith and his men.West Indies were still 177 runs away from preventing the follow-on, but it was something. They had, after all, been 6 for 116 when Roach joined Bravo. Nathan Lyon spun out the middle order, Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle claimed wickets, but Bravo stood firm. More than that, he played with class, and his innings was all the more impressive for the frequent short rain delays that might have affected his focus.He was exquisite through cover and mid-off, 15 of his 17 boundaries coming through the off side, and he looked a class above his batting colleagues, who had all struggled greatly. Bravo had one moment of luck on 78 when he edged Hazlewood between Voges and Smith in the slips, but otherwise his only mistake was in not convincing his partner Holder to ask for a review when Marais Erasmus gave him lbw to a Peter Siddle ball that was sailing well over the bails.That Bravo and Roach had started to show some fight was encouraging for West Indies, for the innings had started miserably. It took Australia four sessions to lose four wickets in their innings; it took West Indies less than one. Hazlewood made the first breakthrough when he had Kraigg Brathwaite trapped lbw for a watchful 2 from 26 deliveries, and then it was all about Lyon.Rajendra Chandrika had struggled against the spin and when he drove at Lyon on 25 he was taken by a juggling Smith at first slip. A better catch came when Marlon Samuels, on 9, drove on the up and Lyon hurled himself into the air to his left and completed a brilliant return take. It was something of a statement from the man who had become the first Australian offspinner to play 50 Tests.Five balls later Lyon had a third, when Jermaine Blackwood played defensively with hard hands and saw his inside edge bob up off his leg to be taken by Joe Burns at bat-pad. Four wickets had arrived before tea and soon after the break, Denesh Ramdin followed when he played back to Hazlewood and failed to get the bat down to a ball that stayed a touch low, and he was bowled for 8. When Holder fell it was 6 for 116, a pitiful reply to Australia’s 4 for 583 declared.It seemed as though nothing could stop Marsh and Voges as they moved Australia’s total along at nearly a run a ball in the first session. Lacklustre as West Indies were, Voges and Marsh still had to concentrate and avoid mistakes, and they did so perfectly. It could also not be forgotten that Australia’s situation had been shaky when they came together on day one.But almost from the first ball of their stand on Thursday, the pressure on them was near non-existent. On Friday, Voges brought up his double-century from his 226th* delivery and in the next over Marsh moved to his 150 from his 227th ball. Both milestones came with singles to deep point; singles were on offer all around the ground all through their partnership.Voges moved to the highest Test score at Bellerive Oval and his 250 came up from 269 deliveries. It was not until the 110th over that West Indies used a review, when Jomel Warrican thought he had found Marsh’s inside edge, but replays revealed the ball had brushed his pad on the way through to Ramdin. Warrican eventually broke the stand when Marsh slog swept to deep midwicket and was out for 182.Voges finished unbeaten on 269 after Smith declared the innings closed during the lunch break. He ended the day with a Test batting average of 76.83, second only to Bradman on Australia’s all-time list of players with a minimum of 10 innings. And as well as Voges had batted, that only highlighted further that this was a day on which statistics told only a small part of the story.* Corrected from 266th delivery (Dec 12, 23:30 GMT)

Inzamam to replace Younis at Yorkshire

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Inzamam-ul-Haq is set to make his county debut for Yorkshire, replacing Younis Khan who will be with the Pakistan team at the Twenty20 World Championship. The former Pakistan captain will play three four-day and as many one-day matches for the county.”I was approached by Yorkshire county for a short stint and I have accepted it, as I see it as a great opportunity to keep my fitness for a hectic international season,” Inzamam said.Inzamam, who retired from ODIs after Pakistan’s disastrous World Cup campaign earlier this year, was not awarded a central contract but has maintained that he still wants to play Test cricket. With the domestic season not starting before the home series against South Africa, the short county stint will provide Inzamam the perfect opportunity to prove his fitness to national selectors.Inzamam has also been linked with a move to the Indian Cricket League. However, no confirmation of that has been received.

Percept bags ground rights for Malaysian tri-series

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Percept has acquired three tenders floated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) totalling about Rs 75 crore (around US$ 16 million).The BCCI had invited tenders for the official provider of the Indian team’s formal wear and accessories, the board’s ratings and awards, and the ground rights for the tri-series against West Indies and Australia in Kuala Lumpur next month, and the marketing company bagged the rights in all three areas.The tender for the ratings and awards was bagged at an overall price of US$ 6.41 million (approx. Rs 30 crore) spread over a period of five years and the company will be announcing its partner for this venture shortly, a BCCI press release said today.According to the deal, Percept would create, conceptualise and manage the ratings, meant for first class cricketers, in consultation with BCCI. Percept also assisted Pantaloons to bag the rights for the formal wear and accessories at a deal that is pegged around US$ 4.29 million (approx. Rs 20 crore) for over four years.Pantaloons would have the rights to provide the garments and market them as the official team clothing for five years and will cover the Under-19 and women’s cricket teams as well. There were no other bidders for these two tenders.PDM International, another Percept Group company, has also bagged the exclusive ground rights for the Malaysian tri-series, slated between September 12 to 24, for US$ 5.14 million (approx. Rs 24 crore). It beat five other bidders to bag the rights for the event.The initial bid of US$ 4.15 by PDM was raised to US$ 5.14 million after news of cancellation of the bilateral series in Sri Lanka due to inclement weather. Less cricket has meant greater viewer interest for the forthcoming Malaysian tri-series, thereby also increasing its commercial value.PDM had earlier bagged the sponsorship rights for the India-Pakistan one-day series held in Abu Dhabi in April.

Buchanan perplexed by no-ball issue

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Shaun Tait struck two blows for Australia on his Test debut, but the talking point was his side’s 22 no-balls © Getty Images

Bad days in the field for England are known in the trade as Duncan Days, because it is at times like these that Duncan Fletcher is wheeled out of the dressing-room to glower sourly at the assembled press corps and dip into his stock of clichés to satisfy the demands of a voracious public. It is not too often in the recent past that Australia have had to do likewise, but after watching his charges serve up 22 no-balls in a truncated day’s play, including 18 in the morning session alone, John Buchanan had no choice but to face the music.England’s bowlers have the inestimable Troy Cooley to hand out guidance on all aspects of the game – from the raw science of biomechanics to the dark arts of reverse swing – but Buchanan’s boys are pretty much on their own. “Self-management” is his preferred term, but today anarchy might have been a more apt description.Buchanan’s first recourse was to wry humour. “We set ourselves a target of not bowling one no-ball, and obviously we missed that target,” he deadpanned. “That gives us some room for improvement, which is always a nice place to be.” But, he added, there was “no explanation” for a performance that gifted England four overs-worth of sighters and resulted in Marcus Trescothick being reprieved on 55.”It’s a training thing,” added Buchanan. “All the members of the quick bowling group get together to measure out their run-ups and they aim to deliver on those, but clearly that hasn’t worked and we will need a more direct approach. If you look back to the Old Trafford Test, Brett Lee was delivering the ball from well behind the line because of the footmarks. It’s a combination of factors – different surfaces, different ramps, they all affect the rhythm.”It’s a headache,” Buchanan conceded, emphasising that his stated “zero tolerance” policy meant precisely that – regardless of appearances to the contrary. But, although the issue of a specialist bowling coach was raised, he was reluctant to engage in such measures. “We’ll consider everything to give our bowlers the best support, but you’ve got to recognise that within the group we’ve got some of the best bowling coaches available, in terms of experience and knowledge. It’s a misdirection to continue to look outside for help. The best form of help is to get things right yourself.”Shaun Tait, sat patiently alongside his coach, would know all about that. Last season he suffered the no-ball problem from hell, bowling 18 wicketless overs in two matches for Durham, in which he was carted for 176 runs before returning home to work on his elusive rhythm. “It’s tough to figure out,” he said. “It’s a matter of bowling more and more and just getting used to it.”Despite the absence of Glenn McGrath, there was never any suggestion that Tait might be handed the new ball on his debut (“I just do as I’m told!”), but he pronounced himself “reasonably pleased” with his first day of Test cricket, with the emphasis on reasonably.”I got hit for a few runs which you can’t do much about, but the guys talked about the best moments of your debut, the presentation of the baggy green and that first wicket, and I think the wicket was the better feeling. It was just a release of nerves. I was a bit uptight this morning and didn’t let myself go, but after the wicket I bowled much better.”His victim was Trescothick, who was thus denied a chance at that ever-elusive maiden hundred against Australia. “I tend to be playing well and then be back in the hutch before I know where I’ve got to,” he said. “But I think we’ve got our noses in front. The wicket quickened up after the rain, it got a bit greasier and the ball kissed through more, but we’ve got to get up around 400. If we can bat well tomorrow morning and get a good partnership going, we’ll have a good chance.”

Essex sign Adams as second overseas player

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Andre Adams: set to make his Essex debut at Old Trafford© Getty Images

Essex have signed Andre Adams, the New Zealand allrounder, as their second overseas player for the remainder of the season.Adams, 29, had been playing in the Lancashire leagues before he was called up to New Zealand’s one-day squad for the NatWest Series. But while the national flew home after their triumph in last week’s final, Adams stayed on and has been snapped by Essex, who are without Danish Kaneria, their original second overseas player, who is playing for Pakistan in the Asia Cup.Adams has played just the one Test for New Zealand, but 31 one-dayers, with 44 wickets at just over 28, and David East, Essex’s chief executive, was happy with his latest signing. “We are delighted that we’ve been able to sign Andre,” East said. “His international experience will be very valuable in all forms of cricket and we are sure he will make a major contribution during his time with the club.”Adams will make his debut against Lancashire at Old Trafford in the National League today.