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Andrew Symonds has agreed to a request to concentrate on offspin as Australia prepare for life after Shane Warne. Symonds is a versatile performer who mixes medium pace with slow bowling, but Warne’s retirement has forced a change in outlook.”That was mentioned to me, that I’ve got to concentrate a bit on spin,” Symonds said in the Courier-Mail. “That is just covering all bases, we have tours to India and other places like that coming up.” Australia play a seven-match one-day series in India after the Twenty20 World Championship and there are Test tours planned for Pakistan and India in 2008.Stuart MacGill is almost certain to be Warne’s replacement and Australia’s other options in the contracted players’ list include Cullen Bailey, Dan Cullen, Brad Hogg and Cameron White. White, Bailey, Cullen and MacGill will tour Pakistan in September as part of the Australia A squad.Symonds’ first international duties of the season will be at the Twenty20 event next month. He is prepared to use his medium pace if the conditions suit, but will also chase spin tips. “I will tap into whoever I can,” he told the paper. “I haven’t talked to Stuey [MacGill] in the last few months but I’m sure we will have a chat about things.”

Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lankan fast bowler, has said he would like to bowl faster than he did on his last tour to Australia. “I have more pace now than last time we played here. I think maybe I can get around 140kph now,” Malinga told AFP. “I want more pace.”All fast bowlers like to do the bouncer and everything. I am the same. We are going to be very attacking.”Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, said Malinga had improved in the three years since Sri Lanka’s previous tour of Australia. Malinga made his Test debut in that tour and took 10 wickets at 26.40 in the two Tests.”He [Malinga] has learned to adjust to different conditions and batsmen,” Jayawardene said. “Now he’s got the ability to control his aggression, which is a good thing. He is one of our attacking options [but] we don’t want to put a lot of pressure on the young guys.”Asked about the recent rise in on-field verbal attacks, Jayawardene said it was important not to lose one’s cool. “You need to be aggressive but you should not go overboard. When you lose your composure, that’s when they [Australia] come back at you very strongly. It’s the seniors’ responsibility to guide the guys through periods in difficult situations.”

It was not, Stephen Fleming conceded, quite as heartbreaking as losing a series off the last ball of a match, but it still wasn’t that great a way to go down. Lance Klusener has made something of a habit of wrenching games away from New Zealand and he did it again on Saturday, crashing Shayne O’Connor through midwicket for four to give South Africa victory by three wickets in the sixth and final Standard Bank one-day international at Newlands.On Wednesday Klusener hammered 41 off 21 balls to beat New Zealand at Kingsmead. On Saturday he was positively sluggish by contrast, taking 41 balls for his 59. But then again, his timing could not have been more perfect as New Zealand were again left to curse the sight of him.Fleming said afterwards that plans had been mooted to contain Klusener in such circumstances, but, he acknowledged, they simply hadn’t worked. And New Zealand, he added, weren’t the only team still to come up with a foolproof method of stifling the left-hander.The victory gave South Africa a 5-0 victory in the series, but, as South Africa’s Shaun Pollock conceded, the gap between the two sides wasn’t quite that wide, particularly in the last three matches. As Fleming noted: “You could point out in most games the moments when one player has taken the game away from us and that was the difference at the end of the day.”At Newlands New Zealand probably produced their best cricket of the series, built around a 150-run partnership between Chris Cairns and Roger Twose. Cairns hit the ball every bit as well, if not better, than Klusener for his 84 off 72 balls and Twose finally nailed down the one-day century that had eluded him in 74 previous matches.Cairns’ straight hitting was awesome in its timing and on most days it was an innings good enough to have won a match. Twose’s century, too, was well crafted and welcomed by its fashioner, but as he noted ruefully: “It just doesn’t mean as much if you don’t win the game.”The pair lifted New Zealand out of a mire at 39 for three, but after both had gone the tourists did not kick on well enough, particularly in the last five overs as they added only 19 and lost four wickets.Still, 256 for nine looked a decent enough score and seemed even better when Shayne O’Connor ripped out the first three South African wickets for just 30, the mini-collapse starting when Daryll Cullinan again failed clearly out of position as an opener.When Gary Kirsten was deceived and caught and bowled by Chris Harris at 65, South Africa were wobbling badly, but Jonty Rhodes and Mark Boucher put the innings back together again with a partnership of 106 for the fifth wicket.Even so, New Zealand still had a grip on the match with South Africa needing 71 off the last 10 overs and, more pertinently, 49 off the last five.That, however, was the signal for Klusener to bring the big gun out of his holster. He needed someone to stay with him, however, and the support came from Shafiek Abrahams playing in his first ODI.Abrahams made only 16, but he passed the strike back to Klusener at every opportunity and with the short straight boundaries at Newlands beckoning, Klusener went over them four times. It was studied hitting, but all of it still left South Africa needing seven off the last two balls. No problem. He hit the first two fours of his innings and South Africa were home and dry, if a little sweaty.The tour now turns itself towards the three-Test series, with South Africa able to take a few days off to celebrate while New Zealand bid farewell to their one-day specialists and welcome the Test match reinforcements.Fleming says that it will be easier now for the tourists to make the switch from the one-day game to the serious stuff, given that they will all welcome a change of pace. They have two warmup matches before the first Test in Bloemfontein. How well Fleming can regroup his warriors remains to be seen.

It might have escaped your attention, but several thousand miles away from the controversies in Australia, another Test match is about to get underway: the deciding third match between South Africa and West Indies in Durban.Prior to this series, few gave West Indies much hope of upsetting South Africa at home, and yet they approach the third Test level-pegging at 1-1. They caught South Africa snoozing in the first at Port Elizabeth, with an allround batting performance (inevitably dominated by Shivnarine Chanderpaul), and in spite of a number of injuries, they clawed at South Africa’s coat-tails doggedly for much of the second in Cape Town.The injuries have taken their toll, though, and West Indies’ chances of claiming their first series win over South Africa since 1992 are looking desperate. Chris Gayle, whose laid back leadership style clearly suits this young side, broke his left thumb in Cape Town and will miss out, exposing an already shaky batting lineup. And there is enough doubt over Fidel Edwards (hamstring) to suggest that even if he does make the final XI, he won’t be firing on all cylinders.Neither, it seems, will Dale Steyn whose hamstring injury has limited his preparations for Thursday. “He’ll probably only bowl (in the nets) at about 70 percent,” Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach said yesterday. “He is making some nice improvement, but we’ll probably only have final clarity on the morning of [the Test]. (sic)”Should Steyn miss out, the decision South Africa take on his replacement could have a bearing on the future of their bowling attack. Shaun Pollock is tipped to return, but hot on his heels is Monde Zondeki, almost a decade his junior, who has been in blistering form this season.The most encouraging aspect of South Africa’s seven-wicket win in Cape Town was the return to form of Graeme Smith, who elbowed his way into rhythm with a pugnacious 85. The question of who opens with Smith continues to divide opinion though, and with Neil McKenzie ruled out with a calf muscle tear, Herschelle Gibbs (who was dropped in place of McKenzie in Cape Town) gets a recall.On the eve of the match, all eyes are on the Kingsmead pitch. With heavy rain over the past few days, the groundsmen are behind schedule and it could be another slow, low surface – which is not ideal for a series which deserves a competitive finale.TeamsSouth Africa (probable) Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher (wk), Paul Harris, Shaun Pollock, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini,West Indies (probable) Devon Smith, Daren Ganga, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo (capt), Denesh Ramdin (wk), Darren Sammy, Rawl Lewis, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell

The Cape Cobras made a successful start in their defence of the MTN Domestic Championship (previously the Standard Bank Cup), with two wins in their first two matches of South Africa’s premier domestic one-day competition.The Cobras beat the Warriors at Newlands, Cape Town on Friday. Batting first, the captain Justin Kemp made 68 to boost the Cobras to 221 before a four-wicket haul from Charl Langeveldt, ably supported by 3 for 51 from Tyron Henderson, sent the Warriors crashing to a 90-run defeat. Andrew Puttick, the Cobras’ wicketkeeper, had a field day behind the stumps, pouching five catches.In Bloemfontein two days later, the Cobras picked up their second victory against the Eagles, in a match reduced from 45-overs a side to 20. Langeveldt was again among the wickets as the Eagles were restricted to 125 for 5. The chase was anchored by Puttick, who opened the batting and finished unbeaten on 64 as his side completed a seven-wicket win.In the opening game of the tournament on Wednesday in Bloemfontein, the Eagles, fresh from claiming the SuperSport Series, triumphed over the Warriors. Dillon du Preez, the leading wicket-taker in the SuperSport Series, grabbed four wickets while his new-ball partner Victor Mpitsang chipped in with three. Left-hander Arno Jacobs made an even 50 as the Warriors were rolled over for 148, a score that was hunted down by the Eagles with five wickets and 11 overs to spare.The Titans sailed to a six-wicket win over the Dolphins in Durban on Friday. A disciplined bowling performance from the Titans restricted the Dolphins to 164. Ahmed Amla scored an unbeaten 60 off 98 balls, while Paul Harris was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 25 from his nine overs. Titans’ keeper-batsman Heino Kuhn top scored with 51, and useful contributions from Gulam Bodi (34) and Francois du Plessis (44) sealed the win.The Dolphins bounced back from that loss with a win against the Lions on Sunday in Durban. The Dolphins opted to field and did well to bowl out the Lions for 166 in 41.4 overs. The Dolphins didn’t cruise during the chase, but eventually scampered home with three wickets in hand, having been 69 for 4 and subsequently 138 for 6.The Lions‘ campaign had got off to a winning start on Friday in Johannesburg. A high-scoring encounter against the Eagles was won with only an over remaining. Morne Van Wyk’s 128, and useful 40s from Boeta Dippenaar and Dean Elgar guided the Eagles to a challenging 271 for 6 off 45 overs. However, a wonderfully-paced run-a-ball chase, powered by the Lions’ top three, left the Eagles on the losing side.Stephen Cook and Alviro Petersen set the platform with a 128-run opening stand. Both openers were run out – Petersen for 95 – but Neil McKenzie all but stayed till the winning runs were hit. McKenzie, who made it to the Test team for Bangladesh ahead of Herschelle Gibbs, made a 70-ball 87, before falling on the brink of victory in the 44th over. Roger Telemachus struck twice in the penultimate over, but Justin Ontong’s six off the last ball won it with an over to spare.Zimbabwe, featuring in this year’s competition, failed in their match against the Warriors in Bulawayo on Sunday. Tatenda Taibu made 52 as the hosts posted 213 for 9, which was not to be enough as the Warriors chased it down to earn their first points in the tournament from their third game. Juan Theron took four wickets while Jacobs top-scored with 68 as the Warriors coasted to a six-wicket win.

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Simon Katich made an emphatic statement in the lead-up to Australia’s six-Test summer, smashing a career-best 306 in front of a national selector while also earning New South Wales first-innings points against Queensland. Katich crawled to triple-figures from 204 balls but cut loose in the middle session, cracking 184 in the two and a half hours between lunch and tea.His second hundred took 75 deliveries and his third came in 67 as the spinners Chris Simpson and Daniel Doran suffered the most. With Jamie Cox, one of the Australia selectors who axed Katich from the contract list during the off-season, watching on, Katich struck 30 fours and nine sixes in reaching the highest first-class score at the SCG since Don Bradman made 452 in 1929-30.Brad Haddin was in fine form as well, striking 123 as he and Katich added 334 for the fifth wicket. Dominic Thornely (64) supported Katich during the opening session after New South Wales resumed at 3 for 151, still 316 short of Queensland’s total.It seemed Katich would bat on indefinitely until Ashley Noffke, who grabbed 5 for 108, ended his seven-hour innings. Mitchell Johnson’s 0 for 134 was hardly the result he wanted ahead of a potential Test debut, as the Blues finally declared at 8 for 601. The Bulls had cut their deficit to 111 at stumps, reaching 0 for 23 with Matthew Hayden on 14 and Ryan Broad on 9.

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Aimee Mason picked a perfect time to post her maiden one-day hundred before she floored Australia with the ball as New Zealand levelled the five-match Rose Bowl series at 1-1. Mason’s previous high in 57 matches was 71, but she comfortably extended her career best with 102 and went within an over of carrying her bat in Darwin.The performance was the only New Zealand score above Sara McGlashan’s 28 and it was responsible for the challenging total of 209. After hitting 13 fours and a six from her 128 balls, Mason then captured the wickets of Shelley Nitschke (24), Kate Blackwell and Sarah Edwards to gain figures of 3 for 15 off ten overs and give Australia some severe headaches.Karen Rolton, the captain, tried to steer her side back into contention, but when she departed for 27 Australia were in serious trouble at 6 for 134 and they fell 35 runs short. Sarah Tsukigawa was on a hat-trick after removing Sarah Andrews and Clea Smith – consecutive wides stopped her adding a third victim in a row – and she ended with 3 for 27.Australia’s main bright spot was the performance of Ellyse Perry, who at 16 years and 261 days became the country’s youngest debutant in a national cricket team. Perry bowled eight overs for 37, picking up the wickets of Maria Fahey and McGlashan, chipped in with the run out of Rowan Milburn and scored 19 before she was last out.”I was a little nervous before I came on to bowl,” Perry told . “It was good to get my first wicket because it gave me more confidence with my bowling and helped me to get through it. It was very exciting and great fun.”

Tawanda Mupariwa, Zimbabwe’s fast-medium bowler, will miss the fourth ODI against Pakistan in Faisalabad on Wednesday (January 30) after spraining his left ankle during a training session.Mupariwa bagged a career-best 4 for 46 in the third ODI in Multan, his first outing of the series, including the wicket of Younis Khan off his first delivery. He fell over after stepping on the boundary rope while attempting a catch during practice today. Mupariwa was immediately put under the supervision of Amato Machikicho, the team’s physio, with further checks scheduled for tomorrow.Christopher Mpofu, dropped from the side after giving away 72 runs in his ten overs in the series opener, will replace Mupariwa. Zimbabwe have decided against making any other changes to the side that lost by 37 runs in Multan.The tourists are already without Prosper Utseya, their captain, who failed to recover from the ankle injury he aggravated while batting in Hyderabad. Hamilton Masakadza will lead the side tomorrow with Utseya set to undergo an assessment just before the final ODI in Sheikhupura onSaturday.

Luke Pomersbach made one of cricket’s more unusual international debuts when summoned to stand in for Brad Hodge, who hurt his back in the dressing room, in the minutes before the start of Australia’s Twenty20 clash with New Zealand in Perth.Pomersbach, a middle-order batsman from Western Australia, was parking his car when he got a call from Australia’s team manager. “I don’t think I locked my car and my brother had to drop my stuff off,” Pomersbach told before he batted. “I’m still shaking, I can’t believe it. I thought it was one of my mates having a joke … I asked him whether he was joking, and he said ‘no mate get yourself to the rooms as quick as you can’.”He had no kit so had to borrow some until his brother Gavin was able to rush his own to the ground. Pomersbach settled himself with a couple of singles, launched a fierce six over midwicket and picked up 15 off seven balls before falling from the third-last ball.What is more remarkable is that Pomersbach is currently suspended by his state after breaking a curfew on a trip to South Australia last month and going out on a drinking session. He is not eligible to resume playing for Western Australia until December 14.

Kyle Mills and Ross Taylor joined the burgeoning ranks of New Zealand cricketers headed for the IPL last night, when they were snapped up by Mohali and Bangalore for US$150,000 and US$100,000 respectively in the second round of auctioning in Mumbai. With Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram and Brendon McCullum already signed up, the competition is increasingly likely to conflict with New Zealand’s preparations for their tour of England in May.New Zealand’s first scheduled fixture of the England tour is on April 27, against MCC at Arundel, followed by a pair of three-day games against Kent (April 28-30) and Essex (May 2-5). The IPL, however, will be in full swing during those matches, and New Zealand Cricket are in discussions with their players’ representatives to allow dispensation for the five affected men to arrive in time for the final warm-up fixture against England Lions, which starts on May 8, a week before the Lord’s Test.”It’s a New Zealand Cricket decision and we have to abide by that, no matter which way it goes,” said Vettori. “They have asked us our views, and they have asked the team’s views. Obviously with five of us involved, it’ll set a different precedent than it would have with three, but we will work through it with Justin [Vaughan, the CEO] and whatever decision he comes to, we will abide by it.”There’s little doubt, however, where Vettori’s preferences lie. Having been signed up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise for a hefty US$625,000, he is understandably eager to play as many of the matches as possible. Realistically he and his team-mates could play in the first five or six rounds of the IPL, which begins on April 18, before joining the New Zealand squad in England in early May.Vettori’s argument is that New Zealand very rarely play warm-up matches on Test tours these days, and so it will make little difference to their preparations for England. What is more, if the senior players do sit out the early fixtures, it will provide an opportunity for younger players to be given invaluable experience of English conditions.”I’m not really worried about how it looks. I’m worried about how it affects the team and the dynamic,” said Vettori. “I know it’ll be a huge opportunity for some young guys to be assimilated into a New Zealand side. Like I’ve said a couple of times, we go away on most tours and don’t have any warm-up games. I don’t think we can say that we all need to turn up all on the same day because that’s the way it’s supposed to be, because we don’t do it on any other tour.”The junior guys are comfortable either way,” he added. “They’re comfortable if we turn up late and they’re equally happy if the whole team turns up together. I don’t think the preparation side is an aspect, it’s whether it fits for the team and the guys can handle it. If they can’t, then we have to sit back and say maybe it’s not the right thing. But if they can, then that’s the way cricket is probably moving.”Mills, who learned of his IPL acquisition from his wife, Diana, who had been tracking the auction online, believed that the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best cricketers in the world was more than adequate compensation for missing the early part of the England tour.Mills’ Mohali franchise is coached by Tom Moody, who has huge experience of county cricket with Worcestershire, and also includes regular England foes, such as Brett Lee and Kumar Sangakkara.” This will be a massive opportunity to pick Brett Lee’s brains for three or four weeks on how to bowl in England,” said Mills. “He was very effective against the Poms in England and in the Ashes last year, so I’ll be picking up a few tips on how to get the Poms out. In terms of a cricketing education, the players I’ll be playing with and against will be of huge benefit to me.”As to their possible late arrival, Mills was sure the players would adapt quickly. “That’s the nature of international cricket over these past five years,” he said. “You’re playing 11 months of the year, always chopping and changing from Twenty20s to one-dayers to Test cricket. I played a domestic one-dayer three days out from the last Test in Hamilton. So that’s the nature of professional cricket these days, we’ve all got to adapt quickly. We’ve all got experience of England before, so the transition shouldn’t be too hard.”