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Dale Steyn has said that the notion he is coming towards the end of his international career due to his recent run of injuries is “absolutely ridiculous” and added he is desperate to help lead the recovery of South Africa’s fortunes.With Steyn being ruled out of the final Test against England in Centurion, due to the shoulder injury he sustained in the opening match of the series in Durban, it means he will have missed six of South Africa’s last eight Tests.Amid the problems swirling around South African cricket – including the doubts over AB de Villiers’ future – the long-term prognosis for Steyn has been questioned but he has no intention of packing it in.”It’s absolute rubbish,” Steyn told . “I played 48 Tests in a row, didn’t miss a single one, and now suddenly I’m an injury liability at the age of 32? It’s ridiculous. Injuries can happen to anybody but I’m still one of the fittest players in the squad and I have many, many overs left in me.””The Test team is going through some huge changes and I want to help lead the way as one of the senior players. This is no time to turn your back and walk away, that’s the last thing on my mind.”Steyn said that he retains ambitions in all three formats of the game but for now his immediate aim is to regain fitness for the World T20, which he concedes may be his last global limited-overs event, and that he will not be rushing back for the ODIs against England if not fully ready.”I’d love to be involved in the ODI series against England but I’m not going to rush back from injury, like I did in India, and make it worse. I’m desperately keen to be fit and play in the T20 World Cup in India in March. It might be my last World Cup so I’d like to help win the bloody thing.”

Scorecard

Simon Katich had a day to remember © Getty Images

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.

Scorecard It was very much Ryan ten Doeschate’s day as the Netherlands established a commanding position after day one of their ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Canada in Pretoria. ten Doeschate took a career-best 6 for 20 as Canada were routed for 103 in only 36.2 overs before backing that up with another flamboyant century.The other notable feature of the innings was a hat-trick for the young left-arm spinner Mohammad Kashif, who finished with 4 for 39 in only his third first-class match. Canada had been handily placed on 76 for 2 before Kashif wrecked the middle order. They never recovered as ten Doeschate added the tail to his three top-order wickets with the new ball.ten Doeschate was not finished there however, as he scored a century off 116 balls to stabilise a Netherlands innings that had wobbled from the prosperity of 118 for 1 to 159 for 6, with Henry Osinde claiming three wickets. By the close they had advanced to 239, a lead of 136, with ten Doeschate unbeaten on 135.It was 26-year-old ten Doeshate’s sixth first-class century, and he has now reached three figures in four successive innings in the ICC Intercontinental Cup.

The PCB aren’t happy about Inzamam’s run out © Getty Images

The PCB have made the match referee, Roshan Mahanama, aware of their concerns over Inzamam-ul-Haq’s controversial run out on the second day at Faisalabad.In a statement they say Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, has written to Mahanama while the PCB Chairman, Shahryar Khan, held a phone conversation with the ICC President shortly after the incident. The statement makes it clear the PCB’s feeling about the run out when Steve Harmison shied at the stumps in his followthrough. “It is evident that Inzamam took evasive action to avoid injury and according to the laws should not have been given out.”The ICC have yet to give a reply but confirmed to Cricinfo that it was within the remit of the third umpire to give Inzamam not out if he thought he was taking evasive action.Meanwhile, the PCB will also hold an internal investigation into Shahid Afridi’s scuffing of the Faisalabad pitch, which has resulted in him being banned for one Test and two ODIs.

David Collier: a happy farewell to Trent Bridge© Getty Images

Nottinghamshire have announced a profit of £71,215 – a slight increase on the 2003 figure of £71,082. Turnover rose by 9.5% from £4.86m to £5.33m in the year Notts won Division Two of the Frizzell County Championship and also gained promotion in the Totesport League.During the year Nottinghamshire also completed the first phase of the redevelopment of the Trent Bridge pavilion, and successfully staged two one-day internationals and a Test match.David Collier, the Nottinghamshire chief executive who is leaving shortly to take over at the ECB, said: “We are pleased to report results which were above budget for 2004. During the year the Club has invested more than £500,000 in enhancing the facilities at Trent Bridge and has significantly strengthened our playing staff resulting in a ‘double promotion’ season.”It is particularly pleasing to record a 15% increase in membership income and a 24% increase in gate receipts, despite our floodlit totesport League match having been abandoned without a ball being bowled.”Commercial income from sponsorship and ground advertising has risen by 18% and hospitality and catering income by 6%, which was an outstanding achievement by our commercial department during a year in which cricket competed for this source of revenue with the Athens Olympics and Euro 2004.”Net income from the ECB has fallen from £901,366 to £756,937 and now represents less than 15% of the club¹s total turnover.”The 30% increase in policing and stewarding costs at Trent Bridge resulted from a comprehensive training programme for all stewards which has made Trent Bridge one of the best-stewarded and policed grounds in world cricket.Notts have named Lisa Pursehouse as Acting Chief Executive with effect from January 1, 2005, when Collier moves to the ECB. She is currently the sales and marketing manager at Trent Bridge, was responsible for the delivery of the inaugural Twenty20 Finals Day at Trent Bridge in 2003, and is widely respected as one of the leading commercial managers in English cricket.Notts expect to name their new chief executive shortly before the start of the 2005 season. Barry Pailing, the chairman, explained: “We have already interviewed a short-list of candidates for the position. The quality of applicants reflects the esteem in which we are held in world cricket, and I am confident that we shall announce an appointment of the highest calibre before the start of the season.”

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.

New Zealand’s women won the first game of their abbreviated tour of Australia when beating Queensland women by 76 runs at Allan Border Field yesterday.New Zealand batted first and scored 198/9 in their 50 overs. Anna O’Leary scored 51 off 95 balls and featured in a 43-run partnership with Rebecca Rolls at the top of the order. Rolls scored 18 while skipper Emily Drumm scored 28 off 38 balls.Haidee Tiffen scored 20 and Paula Flannery 19 in the middle order while at the bottom of the order Rachel Pullar scored 14.Queensland scoring details were not available but they were dismissed for 122 to give New Zealand the victory. Their next game is tomorrow at the Gabba.

Journalist Mark Guidi believes Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi could return at the beginning of April.

The Lowdown: Furuhashi’s absence

The 27-year-old was enjoying an unbelievable first season at Parkhead, contributing to 21 goals in just 27 appearances in green and white. However, he hasn’t been seen since the end of December due to a hamstring problem.

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Ange Postecoglou’s side have managed to cope without their big summer signing, though, and are currently three points clear of Rangers at the top of the Premiership.

The Hoops travel to Ibrox at the beginning of April, and Guidi believes Furuhashi could make a long-awaited return for the Glasgow Derby.

The Latest: Guidi’s comments

Speaking live on Go Radio, relayed by Vital Celtic, Guidi had this to say when asked if he has heard any news from Celtic Park regarding Christopher Jullien or Furuhashi.

“To be honest, on Jullien? Not at the moment.

“On Kyogo. Well, there’s one or two murmurs that he’ll be available for the first game after the international break, which is Ibrox on April 3rd.

“Now we could see Kyogo coming on for the League Cup Final against Hibs, the impact he made with not a lot of training time behind him.

“So if it was to be the case, if that’s accurate, and he’s available for the game at the Ibrox, I wouldn’t imagine that he would start unless there’s an injury problem to Maeda or Giakoumakis or whatever.

“But certainly having somebody like Kyogo on the bench, what a lift that would give to Celtic, to the manager to the players to the supporters, albeit there won’t be Celtic supporters in the ground that day.

“And if he’s required for whatever reason, the circumstances, he is required to come on and give 25 minutes to half an hour, he would have that in his locker all day to go and do that.”

The Verdict: Huge

Postecoglou has had to rely on Giorgos Giakoumakis and January signing Daizen Maeda with Furuhashi out, but having the latter back would be a huge boost going into the final games of the campaign.

He has shown he can step up when needed following his heroics in the League Cup final, and hopefully, the Hoops will still be clear at the top of the Premiership when they travel to Ibrox.

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Having Furuhashi back for the trip across Glasgow could prove crucial, not only for the derby, but for the title run-in itself, so it will be interesting what Postecoglou has to say when it comes to a return date for the star forward.

In other news: ‘Oh my god…’ – Celtic pundit fuming at ‘unbelievable’ news he’s hearing from Parkhead. 

Lasith Malinga: “I think maybe I can get around 140kph now” © Cricinfo Ltd

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.”

Ricky Ponting says Nathan Bracken has not been labelled a one-day specialist © Getty Images

Nathan Bracken has bowled himself back into contention for the first Ashes Test with a solid performance in the Champions Trophy. Bracken has seven wickets in the tournament – second only to Glenn McGrath for Australia – and has thrown his name into the mix for the third Ashes fast-bowling place, which many believed was down to Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark.Bracken took 2 for 36 in the semi-final against New Zealand including the vital wicket of Stephen Fleming and earned praise from Ricky Ponting. “I’m sure his name will come up,” Ponting told . “We all know the ball is going to swing a bit in Brisbane, and he took his best Test figures in that game up there last year. He’s bowling well. He certainly hasn’t been pigeon-holed as a one-day player.”The former fast bowler Geoff Lawson said Bracken had shown enough at the Champions Trophy to suggest Johnson was not the only left-armer who could offer Australia variety. “Johnson is supposedly an express quick, but he’s been bowling at around 135kph. He’s not quick,” Lawson said in . “Bracken was bowling at 125-130kph and getting it to swing considerably. I thought Bracken bowled very well and should definitely be in the mix for the Test.”The first Ashes Test will start on November 23 at the Gabba, the only ground where Bracken has played two Tests. Last year at Brisbane, Bracken claimed 4 for 48 including the key wickets of Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. In 2003-04 he dismissed Virender Sehwag in each innings of the Gabba Test.Ian Chappell has also pushed for the selectors to consider Bracken.