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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.

Javed Miandad has come out strongly against Bob Woolmer’s coaching methods and is extremely sceptical about Pakistan’s chances in the Test series against Australia. Miandad’s comments came just two days before the start of the first Test at Perth, with the Pakistan team suffering crushing defeats in the last warm-up game.Miandad, who was sacked from the coaching position before Woolmer took over, pinpointed what he says are some basic flaws in the set-up. “When you are constantly experimenting with the team, when you are not sure about your playing XI and batting positions, when the coach is unaware of the particular cricket culture and psychology of Pakistan cricket, what do you expect?” Miandad told .These comments came in the wake of Pakistan’s humiliating ten-wicket defeat at the hands of Western Australia in their latest tour game. “It hurts to see a talented bunch of players struggle like this,” Miandad said. “The problem lies in the fact that Woolmer doesn’t have any idea of our cricket culture and background. Read his statements and you know this is a man not confident and sure about what he is doing.”Results, according to Miandad, were the bottom line in gauging a team, and he felt nothing much had changed ever since he was forced to step down. “He [Woolmer] has been in the saddle for six months now and we are still as inconsistent and erratic. When I left, the team was among the top three in Tests and one-day internationals, although when I took over after the 2003 World Cup we blooded several new players. Since I left has there been any improvement in the rankings or our performances?”Elaborating on the coaching methods that he felt were ideal for Pakistan’s players, Miandad said, “Our players need to be told and coached things in a simplified manner. If you drop a batsman to even give him a bit of rest to recover from a bad patch he loses his confidence and forgets everything he has learnt while in the team. That is why Yasir Hameed is now struggling to score runs.”And Miandad had no hesitation in pointing out that Pakistan will be the team playing catch-up throughout the series. “Given the present state of conditions in the team I am not really hopeful of any major surprise being sprung by our players in the Test series. A series in Australia is not the time or place for experiments or building for the future.”

Bangladesh put up a magnificent account of themselves in the Test series, but are likely tofind the going tougher in the one-day series. Much of their resistance in the Tests wasattritional: batsmen seeing off sessions, bowlers – especially Mohammad Rafique – stickingto their task with discipline. Their stern defence was at the heart of their struggle there,but what they will need now is aggression and the instinct to attack. That could be aproblem.Javed Omar and Rajin Saleh would, thus, both be much less effective in the one-dayers,and Habibul Bashar’s importance will be amplified. Mohammad Ashraful is a combativehustler, but he can sometimes go overboard. Bangladesh failed abjectly in the 2003 WorldCup because they all tried to attack from the start of their innings and they threw it away.Their aggression must not be wanton if they are to stretch Pakistan in this series.Dav Whatmore has done an outstanding job of motivating his team, and if they continue toplay with the same intensity, they could yet be a handful. Pakistan, meanwhile, is notquite full-strength. They have been a transitional team for a long time – most spectacularlyshowed up in their `home’ series against Australia last year – and young blood can workboth ways. The youngsters in the team could be hungry to prove themselves; or they couldbe impetuous and impatient. Bangladesh’s victory will depend as much on Pakistan as onthemselves.Abdul Razzaq is back for Pakistan, as is Yousuf Youhana, but Younis Khan has, oddly, beenrelegated to the reserves. Kamran Akmal replaces the banned Rashid Latif, while theyoungsters who impressed in the Test series – Yasir Hamid, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Guland Shabbir Ahmed – have all been included. One curious inclusion, though, is Junaid Zia, afast bowler who was once accused of chucking and underwent corrective action. He is alsothe son of Taufeeq Zia, the PCB chief, and his selection – especially as it is against arelatively weak opponent – has raised a few eyebrows in Pakistan.Bangladesh’s bowlers, meanwhile, will feel less inadequate in the one-day series. Theyhave rarely looked like picking up 20 wickets in a Test match, but restrictive bowling in aone-day match is within the bounds of possibility. Khaled Mahmud, whose Test career -barring the last couple of games – has been indistinguished, is actually a decent one-dayplayer. He was Man of the Match in Bangladesh’s famous victory over Pakistan in the 1999World Cup, and he will have more than that to inspire him in the coming games.Bangladesh are fighting for respectability – the hunger is palpable – and their time mustsurely come.Probable teams
Pakistan 1 Imran Nazir, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Yasir Hameed, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq(capt), 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Shoaib Malik, 8 Kamran Akmal (wk), 9 ShabbirAhmed, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Junaid Zia.Bangladesh 1 Hannan Sarkar, 2 Javed Omar, 3 Habibul Bashar, 4 MohammadAshraful, 5 Rajin Saleh, 6 Alok Kapali, 7 Khaled Mashud (wk), 8 Khaled Mahmud (capt), 9Mohammad Rafique, 10 Mashrafe Mortaza, 11 Tapash Baisya.

Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne will give a wealthy fan the opportunity of a lifetime with one-on-one tips during next Tuesday’s tsunami appeal match between MCC and an International XI at Lord’s. During the lunch break the highest on-line auction bidder for the prize will receive 15 minutes of coaching from Tendulkar before walking out to the middle to face an over from Warne, the world’s leading Test wicket-taker.Tom Graveney, the MCC president and former England batsman, said it was an incredible chance for a supporter to live the dream of batting against Warne at Lord’s in front of a large crowd and worldwide television audience. “We hope that this amazing opportunity, which has been made possible by the generosity and co-operation of Shane and Sachin, will raise a significant additional sum for the tsunami appeal.”The auction begins at 1400GMT on Wednesday, June 8 and closes at 1400GMT on Saturday, June 11. Bids can be placed at www.cricketrelief.org and the winner also receives two tickets to the match.

Steve Waugh admitted that he had his sights set on Sunil Gavaskar’s Test record tally of 34 centuries but said that even if he did wrest the top position for himself, it would be for a short time only.”There’s always a chance (of making 35 hundreds). It doesn’t really matter what I set, Sachin Tendulkar (with 31) is going to waltz past that one anyway,” Waugh told the media after going past Tendulkar’s tally with an unbeaten 156 in the second Test against Bangladesh.”I know once I got a hundred today I was pretty focused on getting 150. I knew I wouldn’t get another chance. I’m pleased with that. It’s nice to have that record,” said Waugh of his added distinction of having made a score of 150 or more against every Test-playing nation.Waugh is also drawing ever closer to Allan Border’s record for most Test runs, but this had hardly seemed possible late last year when a run-drought fuelled controversy over his retention in the Test team.”If I was going to finish up last year, I wanted to go out on my terms and that was playing some shots,” Waugh said. “Perhaps that may have released some pressure and I’ve gone out there and just tried to play the ball on its merits. Really, I just wanted to be positive. I knew I was good enough to play for Australia still and I wanted to prove that to myself and I wanted to come back and show people.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Kumar Sangakkara’s marathon 232, the third double-century of his career and thefourth-highest score against South Africa, handed Sri Lanka control of the second Test in Colombo. An early strike from Chaminda Vaas, and a double-wicket maiden from Sanath Jayasuriya just before the close, then tightened their grip on the game as South Africa closed on 116 for 3.Herschelle Gibbs had worked feverishly hard to overcome his ankle injury,but he came into the second Test with no match practice for many months – hardly ideal preparation for the deciding match of a series. Vaas allowed him no time to shake off the early-season rustiness with a peach of an inswinger first ball that would have knocked back middle stump (1 for 1).Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s new round-armed pace sensation, or “pocketrocket” as he is described by his coach, bowled a remarkable first over thatincluded five wicket-taking outswingers and one rank full-toss to leaveMartin van Jaarsveld utterly perplexed. But the shock value of his weirdaction wore off soon and van Jaarsveld and Graeme Smith settled in.Their next moment of alarm came when Thilan Samaraweera claimed a catch offvan Jaarsveld, on 13, at slip off Rangana Herath. But the TV replaysindicated that the ball may have brushed the turf, and the batsman was given the benefit of the doubt. Thereafter South Africa, with Muttiah Muralitharan safely out of the way, ticked along smoothly.But just when the day appeared to be drifting towards a quiet end, Jayasuriya’s magic arm struck twice in his first over. First, van Jaarsveld(51) mistimed a drive to cover moments after reaching his third Test fifty,and then Nicky Boje, the nightwatchman, was bowled through the gate (109 for3).Smith, who finished on 49 not out, and Jacques Kallis sweated their waythrough the last five overs, leaving South Africa with a fight on their hands to reach the follow-on target of 271 on the third day – although, in such draining conditions, Sri Lanka would probably bank the lead and bat again.Earlier, South Africa’s pace bowlers, led by Shaun Pollock, dragged theirteam back into the match by bowling out Sri Lanka for 470. Samaraweera’s top-edged hook six minutes before lunch proved to be the trigger for a rush of wickets. Five wickets tumbled for 26 as Sri Lanka, who had looked set for a mountainous total, slumped from 392 for 4 to 437 for 9.When Sangakkara finally succumbed to tiredness after nine hours ofconcentration and focus, flashing at a wide delivery and edging to slip,Pollock celebrated with a mixture of joy and relief: Kallis hadgiven Sangakkara a letoff at slip on 57 off him, and Pollock had missed a difficult one-handed return catch off his own bowling this morning when Sangakkara had reached 177.

But Pollock, by far the best of the South African bowlers in this series,was rewarded for all his hard work with excellent final figures of 4 for 81from 30 overs on a placid pitch. If his colleagues – especially Makhaya Ntiniand Nantie Hayward – had shown the same skill and control, South Africa wouldnot have conceded the intiative again.It was Pollock who found the edge of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s bat tobreak through after lunch (399 for 6), and Hayward who sent RomeshKaluwitharana packing after a nick from a swivel-pull was safelypouched by Mark Boucher (416 for 7). Ntini tidied up his figures a touch asRangana Herath chopped one onto his stumps (437 for 9).But it wasn’t all plain sailing for South Africa, on another afternoon of sweltering 39-degree heat, as Upul Chandana cobbled together 40 and frustrated them, putting on 33 for the last wicket with Malinga. Chandana flew out of the blocks with a flurry of meaty boundaries, before South Africa dropped the field back and reduced the scoring to a crawl. Finally, though, with the innings meandering to a tedious standstill, he tried to launch Boje into downtown Colombo and was stumped: Sri Lanka finished on 470.In the morning, after Vaas, the nightwatchman, had fallen to the secondnew ball for 10, Sangakkara batted briskly, with no hint of nerves as he cruised through the 190s. But that was hardly surprising because he has now doubled up all of his last three Test centuries – the last two were his 230 against Pakistan in 2001-02 and 270 against Zimbabwe this May.It was a fine innings, during which he curbed a natural instinct forattack as South Africa plugged the gaps and tried to wear down his patience.He interspersed solid defence with his full repertoire of stylish strokes,scoring an equal percentage of his runs on either side of the wicket andfinishing with 31 fours and one swept six. It was his second-highest score, and only Don Bradman (299 at Adelaide in 1931-32), Eddie Paynter (243 at Durban in 1938-39) and Mahela Jayawardene (237 at Galle last week) have made higher scores against South Africa.Off the pitch, it was announced that Muralitharan, who pulled out yesterday morning, would fly to Australia tonight for surgery. He was already ruled out of the five-match one-day series that follows this Test. However, until his shoulder is opened up, it is not clear quite how long he will be out of action.

The saving grace of defeat is that it invariably brings lessons. India haven’t merely lost a Test inBangalore; they have been crushed by opponents whohave been a few steps ahead of them. Australians havebatted smarter, bowled smarter and set smarter fields.There is little use in finding comfort from the memoryof a similar defeat in Mumbai in 2001 – badly beatenin the first Test, India went on to win the series 2-1- because miracles wouldn’t be miracles if theyrepeated themselves.India must remember Kolkata and Chennai to givethemselves hope, but it will be futile andself-defeating to hope for an extraordinary event toconjure itself up and turn the series around. Australiahave paid India a huge compliment by changing theirgame for this series and India have been caughtnapping.The difference beween Mumbai 2001 and Bangalore 2004is stark: Australia won in Mumbai by playing their traditionalgame; they swept, they set aggressive fields and theywere 99 for five in the first innings before AdamGilchrist chanced his arm around to bail them out. Anda chance dismissal – Sachin Tendulkar’s full bloodedpull against Shane Warne ricocheted of Justin Langerat forward short leg and Ricky Ponting brought off amagical catch, sprinting nearly 25 yards and divingfull-length to pluck the ball inches off the ground -gave Australia the decisive advantage when Indiabatted second. John Buchanan later admitted that histeam’s biggest failure in 2001 was not seeing thewarning signals in Mumbai.This time Australia have left nothing to chance. Theywill not call for champagne and cigar before sealingoff a win. Buchanan was quick to remind journalists atlast evening’s press conference that Australia stillhad four wickets to take. India must know now thatthis is not an Australian side that will not defeatitself. Unlike in the past, this is not a team that istoo proud to defend, either with bat or in the field.India have only three days to come up with a revisedgameplan.With a hundred more runs in the first innings, theresult of this game could have been different. TheAustralian wickets in the second innings did not fallin the pursuit of quick runs. Apart from that ofMichael Kasprowicz, each of them was claimed byguileful bowling on a wicket that had begun to wear.Harbhajan Singh bowled poorly in the first innings,but throughout the second innings, he was masterful.He tied down Simon Katich and Michael Clarke andreduced Damien Maryn to strokelessness. India can’t bank onwinning the toss, but they must have noticed thatGlenn McGrath is a much lesser menace after his firstfour overs; somehow, they need to play him out.Sourav Ganguly has been a wonderful captain for theyoung players. But he has done poor Aakash Chopra nofavours. It is no secret that Gangly prefers attackingplayers, but what could have happened without Chopra’sstonewalling in Australia is evident now. India have awonderful middle order, but it needs protection.Indian batting has come unhinged in two out oftheir last three Tests, and on each occasion, themiddle order has failed to survive the loss of earlywickets. Chopra lost his place to Yuvraj Singh in thelast Test of India’s tour to Pakistan, and ever since,Ganguly has let no opportunity pass to let the worldknow that Yuvraj was his first choice to partnerVirender Sehwag. India were spared a selectionconundrum with Sachin Tendulkar missing this Test, butChopra must feel like a man with a time bomb aroundhis neck and he has batted like one. Chopra has toknow where he stands.

Top-order Test batsmen don’t stick their bat outsidethe off stump like tailenders, and on the evidenceof his performance in this Test, Yuvraj Singh has someway to go. The Indian team could become a closedsociety if the team management refuses to look beyondthe chosen few. Sridharan Sriram has had a wonderfulcouple of seasons, he scored a wonderful hundredagainst a full Indian bowling attack in apractice match, and he should be seen as an option.Apart from Harbhajan’s bowling, the most hearteningfeature for India from this match was Irfan Pathan’sbatting. He looks more impressive with every match and inthe post-match media conference, Gilchrist describedPathan as mature beyond his years, and Ganguly said that heconsidered him an allrounder. Apart from the strokesthat he can play, the most striking feature of hisbatting is the way he gets behind the line of the balland the way he leaves them outside his off stump. Thismorning he batted out 38 ballswithout scoring a run when Dravid was protecting himfrom Shane Warne, and after Dravid departed, he wasquick to use his feet against Warne to clout him for acouple of fours and six. If you add up both innings, he battedthe longest for India in this match and scored the mostruns.The other good news for India is that Warne, despitegetting VVS Laxman in both innings, seldom lookedthreatening. So if India can keep apace with Australiafor the first two days in Chennai, the series might still beopen.Wisden Asia Cricket

Victoria have included Ian Harvey, the allrounder, and Jason Arnberger, the opening batsman, in their 12-man squad for the Pura Cup final against Queensland, starting at the MCG on March 12. Meanwhile, Queensland have included Shane Jurgensen, the fast bowler who used to play for Tasmania, in their 14-man squad. Jimmy Maher and Ashley Noffke, who are both carrying injuries, were also called up.Harvey was a late withdrawal from Victoria’s match against Tasmania at Hobart because of a slight groin strain. But he proved his matchwinning ability in Monday’s Premier Cricket one-day final for Northcote, taking 3 for 11 from 10 overs, and smashing 65 from 56 balls to almost singlehandedly rout Melbourne University.That performance secured him a place in Victoria’s squad, along with Arnberger, who has not played a first-class match since Victoria’s win over New South Wales in Newcastle in early January because of calf problems. Arnberger replaced Matthew Mott, who has struggled at the top of the order recently, while Harvey came in for Brendan Joseland, the batting allrounder.Joseland made 6 and 51 and took 1 for 19 in his first-class debut against Tasmania, but made way for Harvey, who has played just three first-class matches for Victoria this season because of Australian one-day duties, and none since December. The chairman of selectors, Mick O’Sullivan, admitted that there was a “bit of extra pressure” choosing a team for the final but was confident Harvey was ready to play.”The selectors were conservative in their handling of Harvey last week,” O’Sullivan said. “He is an experienced member of this side and we had to make sure he was 100% for this week. His performance on Monday in the Premier Cricket one-day final satisfied the selectors that he is right to go and we are confident in his ability to perform over five days if required.”Jurgensen’s break in the Queensland squad came at the expense of his fellow fast bowler, Damien MacKenzie. Jurgensen has played three matches this season, taking 13 wickets at 23.15. Interestingly, when Queensland won the Pura Cup in 2001-02, Jurgensen played against them in the final, for Tasmania.Squads
Victoria Darren Berry (capt, wk), Jason Arnberger, Matthew Elliott, Ian Harvey, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Mathew Inness, Michael Lewis, Andrew McDonald, Jonathan Moss, Cameron White, Allan Wise.Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), Clinton Perren, Martin Love, Stuart Law, Aaron Nye, James Hopes, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Nathan Hauritz, Ashley Noffke, Joe Dawes, Chris Simpson, Shane Jurgensen, Brendan Nash.

Gary Gilmour, the Australian swing bowler who famously took 6 for 14 against England in the 1975 World Cup semi-final, is fighting for his life and is in desperate need of a liver transplant.Gilmour, who is 54, needs an operation urgently and fund-raising efforts are being spearheaded by Ian Chappell, his former Australian captain. “His condition has deteriorated to the point where he is on three hours’ standby for surgery that will, hopefully, give him a new lease of life,” Chappell said. “It is vital that funds be raised to cover his medical costs and his family’s ongoing needs.”Chappell has organised a dinner in Sydney on September 23, and a number of past and present players have donated items for auction. “One of the guests may possibly end up being 13th man during the Australia-Rest of the World Test in Sydney in October,” Chappell said. “And that means being in the Australian dressing-room and carrying the drinks.”Gilmour, a burly allrounder, burst onto the scene at Headingley in June 1975 when, in ideal conditions, he destroyed England in a display rated by Wisden as the greatest one-day bowling performance ever. Then, set just 94 to win, Australia were in tatters on 38 for 6 when he hit a run-a-ball 28 not out to see them through to the final. Although Australia lost that game to West Indies, Gilmour was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 48 off his 12 overs.Despite that remarkable start, Gilmour played only 15 Tests and three more ODIs. “A debilitating foot injury was a handicap,” noted Gideon Haigh. “So was a light-hearted attitude to training and fitness that owed more to the 1950s than to the increasingly professional era of which he was part.””I couldn’t play under today’s conditions, what with the travelling and training and scientific aspects,” Gilmour once said. “It’s not a sport any more, it’s like going to work. You know how some mornings you get up and don’t want to go to work – that’s how I’d feel playing cricket these days. I’d clock on for a sickie.”

Forty-two years after making his debut as a television commentator in England, Richie Benaud bowed out today at The Oval.His final words were simple and typically Benaud. “Thank you for having me,” he said. “It’s been absolutely marvelous. I’ve loved every moment of it.’A little while before his last stint, the crowd at The Oval had been informed over the PA that Benaud was about to embrak on his final spell, and they reacted with spontaneous applause. The players also stopped and clapped.”He knows his subject inside out and has a sense of timing and a wit that few people can match,” Channel 4’s Mark Nicholas, a former captain of Hampshire, said in an interview. Benaud, 74, insisted that he remained in love with the game, and was delighted to end with such a dramatic series. “It’s my view, and people may disagree with it, that this series shades that tour,” he explained. “And that’s saying something.”He will continue to be heard regularly in Australia where he recently signed a new three-year deal with Channel Nine. And Michael Slater, a co-commentator at Channel 4, hinted that Benaud would be looking for another extension at the end of that deal.Benaud ended with some words of encouragement for the beaten Australians. “There are plenty of good young players around in Australia,” he said. “They’ll fight back very quickly.”