South Africa v New Zealand Champions Trophy Group B Centurion

AB de Villiers put the finishing touches on a comfortable win

South Africa 217 for 5 (de Villiers 70*) beat New Zealand 214 (Taylor 72, Parnell 5-57) by five wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

South Africa, led by Roelof van der Merwe and Wayne Parnell with the ball and AB de Villiers with the bat, recovered from their opening-game loss to beat New Zealand in Centurion. New Zealand struggled to put up runs after being put in under slightly overcast conditions, with van der Merwe starring with ten cunning overs while Parnell claimed five wickets.

Ross Taylor played a responsible innings that gave New Zealand stability after they were reduced to 92 for 3, but losing their last seven wickets for 51 was a crime. With this win, impossible without de Villiers’ cool half-century, Group B is now wide open with England yet to play a match.

The pitch was the same one used a couple of days ago when South Africa were mauled by Sri Lanka, but the result was very different. Early on it offered more pace and bounce than the track on which Tillakaratne Dilshan blazed away, but as the afternoon wore on stroke play became increasingly tougher, especially against the older ball. By the time New Zealand were midway into their innings, after Parnell took two early wickets, the spinners found appreciable bounce and the abrasive nature of the pitch made the ball grip the surface.

van der Merwe and Johan Botha bowled with control and the effort was complemented by the attacking fields Graeme Smith set, which played a major role in suffocating the batsmen. Runs came at a trickle with New Zealand managing just 72 between the 15th and 35th overs. During that span, the spinners conceded just three boundaries.

Taylor had a few close shaves against van der Merwe but overcame his nerves to play a substantial role. He was pleasing when cracking the ball in the arc between point and gully but more than those odd field perforations his contribution was valuable for the manner in which he shored up the pressure of seeing New Zealand through difficulty. Grant Elliott had his moments of indecision when balls from van der Merwe just about missed the edge of the bat, yet managed to pierce the wall of fielders with some excellent shots through cover.

His dismissal for 39, bowled by a peach from van der Merwe, snapped a 71-run stand and allowed South Africa back spectacularly. The last five fell for 11 runs in 18 balls, with Parnell nipping out three in the batting Powerplay, and that decided the match. Taylor had carried the innings but the lack of sizeable partnerships hurt them: there were four stands of 30 or more, but none topped 71 as South Africa plugged away. The bowlers did a fine job, and the sharp turn the spinners achieved suggested that batting in the evening would be even more difficult.

This is where de Villiers made the difference. Smith failed to get going, chipping Daryl Tuffey to mid-on, after which Jacques Kallis briefly put New Zealand on the back foot. Kallis biffed a 39-ball 36, batting as if the world was his stage, but his dismissal left de Villiers to shepherd the chase.

Warning of de Villiers’ intentions came early with two sumptuous drives down the ground off Daryl Tuffey. He didn’t lag thereafter, embellishing his presence with lovely clips off the pads and excellent judgment of singles and doubles. Daniel Vettori got sharp bite and used his arm ball well, and it was with one that gently turned that he sent Hashim Amla on his way for 38 from 65 deliveries. Kyle Mills returned and was the beneficiary of a wicket as an attempted cut from JP Duminy went off the bottom edge and Brendon McCullum took a sharp catch.

de Villiers refused to panic. He collected the singles, punished the loose balls, and didn’t buckle under the pressure exerted by a tight spell from Vettori. Singles were vital to South Africa’s progress yet sporadically, to give the fans something to purr about, de Villiers found the boundary. He brought up his 19th ODI fifty off 54 balls and Mark Boucher seemed set to seal the win with him until he lost his concentration in the 36th over. South Africa, though, already had the game wrapped up.

Pakistan v West Indies, Champions Trophy, Group A, Johannesburg

Pakistan 134 for 5 (Umar Akmal 41*, Tonge 4-25) beat West Indies 133 (Miller 51, Aamer 3-24, Gul 3-28) by five wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Pakistan tripped and stumbled and chased with the assurance of sleepwalkers, but ultimately a superior fast-bowling attack and depth in batting sealed them a low-scoring showdown. A fine bowling performance where wickets were shared all around ensured a woefully inexperienced West Indies were bowled out for an unthreatening 133 after they opted to bat. Pakistan’s batting has floundered repeatedly this year and today they nearly lost it, bewildered by Gavin Tonge’s four-wicket haul, before Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi added 58 to finish the deal.

This match as a contest ended well before Pakistan could come out to bat. Floyd Reifer had spoken of the importance of this tournament for fans in the Caribbean, and vowed at the toss that his team would play “the best cricket possible”. What followed was anything but, as a combination of accurate fast bowling and not-so-clever batting decided the direction of this match.

Afridi, captaining Pakistan for the first time in ODIs, had said after losing the toss that he would have fielded first on a surface he reckoned had a bit in it for his bowlers. He was spot on, and Pakistan’s trio of fast bowlers exploited whatever juice there was. There were no magic deliveries or exaggerated reverse swing, just good old line and length but that proved sufficient for an inept line-up. The professionals stuck to the basics: Mohammad Aamer found a bit of seam movement, Naved-ul-Hasan swung it gently and varied his pace, and Umar Gul hit the deck hard to apply the chokehold.

At one point it looked as though the game would be finished before the lights came on. West Indies’ woes started in the first over, when Dale Richards spooned a return catch to Aamer. Andre Fletcher found it wasn’t easy slogging Naved and when he got one that wasn’t full enough to stab at, he scooped to backward point. Aamer got Travis Dowlin for 0, trying to cut one that was too full.

With the batsmen uneasy defending and playing off the back foot, Aamer settled for back of a length and beat the bat numerous times. Naved found movement when he pitched it up and the slips were kept interested. He hit a tidy line with the new ball and cleverly changed his pace, conceding just 12 off his first five overs.

Gul took a few deliveries to find his length, and when he changed his angle to around the stumps he immediately had Devon Smith – the most experienced batsman – lobbing a sharp, rising delivery to second slip. West Indies went from deep trouble to catastrophe in a matter of minutes when Aamer changed ends after a break and ripped one through David Bernard, and Gul nipped out Reifer and Chadwick Walton off successive deliveries. Gul was the pick of the lot, finding a superb line and getting the ball to sit up sharply.

Had it not been for some enthusiastic hitting from Nikita Miller, West Indies may have folded for their second lowest score ever. Miller, beginning shakily but gaining in confidence with three boundaries off Saeed Ajmal’s second over, showed a technique and temperament that his batting team-mates so desperately lacked. He was last out for 51 off 57 balls as West Indies collapsed in 34.3 overs.

A target of 134 was easily going to be in Pakistan’s range, but they still managed to make it a tough chase. The openers, with ten overs to negotiate before the lunch break, took the frenzied approach and paid for it. Tonge set the tone for a very good evening by bowling Imran Nazir with a full ball in a wicket-maiden opening over, and then undid Kamran Akmal for seam and carry. Tonge understood the virtue of pitching the ball up, yet also got it to bite off the pitch on more than one occasion. He smacked Mohammad Yousuf in the ribs and should have had him on 1 but Darren Sammy erred at second slip.

Tonge bowled a very consistent line, showing an aptitude to test the batsmen by pitching it up; Shoaib Malik was drawn into a fatal drive. Tonge’s length was immaculate and Yousuf’s was the only wicket he got off a shorter length. Otherwise his variation was generally full or on a good length.

At 76 for 5, after Misbah-ul-Haq edged Bernard, the match could have swung either way. Umar’s entrance brought some stability to the proceedings and with Afridi, calmed nerves and sealed victory. Umar displayed the virtues required to negate the pressure and turn the heat back on the fielders, backing himself to go over the top. Even a severe rap from a Tino Best beamer didn’t deter young Umar from finishing the job. West Indies displayed remarkable fight, but were a few runs short as Pakistan crossed the finish line in the 31st over.

South Africa v Sri Lanka, Champions Trophy, Group B, CenturionSri Lanka 319 for 8 (Dilshan 106, Jayawardene 77, Sangakkara 54) beat South Africa 206 for 7 (Smith 58, Mendis 3-30) by 55 runs (D/L)

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Led by a blazing century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and a brace of cameos, the world’s No. 5 team started their Champions Trophy campaign in fine style by beating the top-ranked side. Graeme Smith’s decision to field was based on the amount of dew around, but bar Dale Steyn none of the bowlers made an impression in the afternoon. Dilshan’s 92-ball 106, coupled with significant inputs from captains former and present, lifted them to a daunting total that was well beyond South Africa.

Sri Lanka carried the energy from their powerful batting display into the field and Ajantha Mendis, unlike the home side’s spinners, extracted bounce and turn under lights. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis showed signs of dominance with an 81-run stand in quick time but once Smith was bowled by Mendis’ first delivery, and Kallis and JP Duminy fell in successive balls, Sri Lanka had applied the chokehold.

Smith had a smile on his face when the toss went his way and Steyn nipped out Sanath Jayasuriya, but it was soon replaced by a frown. In a 158-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, who provided solid support with 54 from 74 balls, Dilshan played anchor and aggressor in equal measure. The first to feel Dilshan’s force was Wayne Parnell, preferred to Makhaya Ntini; he struggled to hit a consistent length and went for 39 in five overs. It was a recurring leitmotif in those early overs, Parnell dragging the ball down and Dilshan pinging the deep point and midwicket boundaries. Albie Morkel was thrashed for 22 in two overs as Sri Lanka reached 100 in the 13th over.

The onslaught forced Smith, who refused to delay the Powerplay, to turn to his spin pair to try and stop the destruction. The pair stemmed the flow of boundaries but lacked bite and Sri Lanka ticked along at over six an over. Dabs, drives, flicks, shots off angled bats, and punches all evaded fielders and Sangakkara brought up his first half-century since February. He fell to an innocuous delivery from Duminy, after which Dilshan’s boundary blasting – he hit 16 fours and a six – ended when he slashed the first ball of Steyn’s return over to third man.

Sri Lanka used the platform extremely well and crossed 300 thanks largely to Mahela Jayawardene’s 77 off 61. He was his usual deft self: cutting, nudging and pushing into the gaps with excellent timing. His feet constantly moved as he made room to create singles and, with Thilan Samaraweera playing in a similar vein, Sri Lanka pressed ahead. Before South Africa knew it Jayawardene was 41 off 40 balls – the majority of those runs coming from controlled paddles and sweeps – and the stage was set for a late surge; the final ten overs cost 85. Parnell gave some respectability to his figures by dismissing Jayawardene and Samaraweera in successive deliveries though by then Sri Lanka were 297 for 5 in the 47th over.

Chasing more than a run a ball from the start, South Africa needed a strong platform. They were in early trouble when Hashim Amla was cleaned up by Angelo Mathews off an inside edge in the third over. Kallis joined Smith, looking leaner having shed a few kilos, and the pair milked the wayward Nuwan Kulasekara, who seemed to contract Parnell’s problem of bowling short. Kallis was quick to punish him and Kulasekara’s fifth over went for 14, with Smith particularly strong through the off side.

While Smith danced down the track at will and shuffled about to unsettle the fast bowlers, Kallis chose to clip the ball sweetly from the crease. Smith looked increasingly confident at the crease, but playing for a Mendis offbreak he missed one that skidded and hurried on and had his leg stump pegged back.

Mendis had again proved a valuable go-to man for his captain by ending the flourishing partnership. Smith’s bullish start hinted at the possibility of a Dilshan-style ambush, but inside four overs Mendis ripped the heart out of the batting order. Kallis showed glimpses of his class in compiling a brisk 41 before he was excellently caught at mid-off by a tumbling Mathews. Next ball, Duminy was castled by a flipper.

The required run-rate was already above seven at 113 for 4 in the 21st over, placing too much pressure on the rest of the order. Lasith Malinga, having bowled just one over at the start, returned to dismiss AB de Villiers and later snapped a gung-ho stand between Morkel and Johan Botha before rain interrupted the chase. At that stage Sri Lanka were well in command, and were later adjudged deserved winners.

Sri Lanka had previously lost only once after posting a 300-plus total in one-day internationals and, led by Mendis, the masters of asphyxiation struck. Adapting to early-season South African conditions superbly, Sri Lanka have taken the lead in showing that Asian teams are a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. South Africa, frustratingly, have shown again why their ability in multi-team tournaments has long been questioned.

Zaheer Khan

NEW DELHI: Zaheer Khan may be out of action due to shoulder injury for at least five months, but Indian coach Gary Kirsten insisted on Monday that he is not losing sleep over it.

For the upcoming series of matches, the former South African opening batsman is banking on Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar to make up for Zaheer’s absence.

“The kind of performance Zaheer has shown in last couple of years is truly remarkable. His absence is a huge blow but we have pacers in the team who can also do the job and I have high hopes on them,” Kirsten told TOI on Monday. Echoing Kirsten’s thoughts, chairman of the selection committee Krish Srikkanth said: “Zaheer has been our main bowler in recent times and his record speaks for itself. We are certainly going to miss him. We don’t have any other option if a bowler like him is injured. We have to accept this and move on.” Both Kirsten and Srikkanth however agreed that India has enough bench-strength to tackle this crisis.

“Bowlers like RP, Ishant, Nehra and Praveen are capable bowlers and can face any challenge. The Indian team is going to have a four-day camp from August 27 and we hope to sort out everything before the season starts in September,” Kirsten said. When asked if Ishant can carry the burden of expectations, more so in the absence of Zaheer, Kirsten said: “We expected a lot from Ishant and he did produce some extraordinary performances in the last season. He is extremely talented and he is going to get better with every series. I am confident he is going to play a crucial role again.” Kirsten, who was in the Capital with mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton to monitor the fitness regimen of eight Indian cricketers, went about his job in a professional manner.

Both he and Upton kept updating their notebooks with the latest readings of players’ bip test. Expectedly, these fitness reports will be tabled next week when the selectors meet to pick the teams for the Sri Lankan tri-series and Champions Trophy. Probably, this is the first time that the entire team will undergo fitness tests before a conditioning camp, that too at the start of the cricket season. Earlier, such fitness tests were conducted at the conditioning camp. The second round of tests will be conducted on the remaining cricketers in Mumbai on Tuesday.

“We have to keep a track record of the fitness standards of the team. All the players are in good shape and we hope to start the season with a bang,” Kirsten said. The eight cricketers who attended the fitness test: Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Parveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina.

Graeme Swann

LONDON: England off-spinner Graeme Swann has said there is no need for knee jerk reactions in the wake of the Leeds defeat against the

Australians, and urged England selectors to retain faith in both Ravi Bopara and Ian Bell in next week’s Ashes decider.

In an article for The Sun, Swann said: “The worst thing England can do is panic in response to one bad performance at Headingley and all the pressure from the pundits. We know we were bad in the fourth Test, the game was a bit of a nightmare, to be honest, and we must take the medicine of a defeat by an innings and 80 runs.”

“But we’re still 1-1 with one to play and most people would have taken that situation at the start of the series. And, I firmly believe we can take some momentum from the fun and frolics of the partnership between Stuart Broad and myself on Sunday when we put on 108 in 12.3 overs,” he added.

“I genuinely believe that one bad game doesn’t make a bad player. Sure, numbers three, four and five didn’t contribute too much but Ravi, Belly and Paul Collingwood are talented and classy players. Ravi showed just how much he has to offer with those three centuries in three innings against West Indies earlier this summer. He has displayed glimpses of that against the Aussies and I am sure the good pitch at The Oval will suit Ravi and he’ll come out flying,” Swann said.

Swann said that Bopara’s decision to play for Essex against Middlesex this week in the county championship was a right decision.

“That will give him the chance to get some runs under his belt. Belly looked in prime form at Edgbaston in the Third Test and Colly saved the First Test at Cardiff virtually on his own just a few short weeks ago. People will call for change. It’s probably inevitable after a defeat. But you must remember that we won at Lord’s only two games ago and everyone was ecstatic then. All sorts of names have been brought up but I don’t think there should be changes,” said Swann.

“We still fancy our chances of winning the series,” he concludes.

Ishant Sharma

NEW DELHI: Who will shoulder India’s pace burden now that spearhead Zaheer Khan’s surgery has ruled him out for at least five months? The onus

falls on two Delhi pacers – the young Ishant Sharma and the veteran Ashish Nehra – to step up and deliver during the long and gruelling season ahead.

Ashish-nehra

Both Nehra and Ishant seemed optimistic about the team’s chances when TOI caught up with them on Friday. Comeback-man Nehra, for one, is upbeat about his prospects and hopes he will stay fit throughout. Ishant admitted Zaheer would be missed but the lanky pacer is keen on seeing India continue their winning momentum in One-dayers.

‘‘Zaheer has been quite a sensation for India lately and the team is going to miss him. But since I am the senior-most bowler in the line-up, I am ready to shoulder the responsibility in Zaheer’s absence. I have been bowling well in recent months and I have the confidence to do well for the country again,’’ Nehra told TOI on Friday, adding: ‘‘I only hope to be fit throughout the season and am keeping my fingers crossed.’’

The left-arm seamer also pointed out, ‘‘India will be playing only three Tests in the next nine months. We have a lot of One-dayers, and our fast bowling department is good enough to handle pressure situations. I have missed more than two-and-a-half years due to injuries but I am happy with my form now. I had a decent outing in the West Indies and even this year’s IPL was good for me.’’

Ishant, meanwhile, is enjoying a much-needed break at home. But in the late afternoons he is a regular at the Ramjas Sports Complex nets in Patel Nagar. ‘‘I am working on strengthening exercises these days,’’ he told TOI, ‘‘This is the off-season and I am doing all the drills which a fast bowler needs to do to maintain fitness levels.

‘‘We are certainly going to miss Zaheer but we have to make the best use of our resources. Zaheer has been of great help to me ever since I started playing for India. I am certainly going to miss him. Injuries are part of the game. But there are seniors in the team who can help me out,’’ he said.

‘‘This is a crucial season for us. We want to keep our winning momentum in One-dayers intact. One can’t be in top form throughout but it is important to contribute to the team’s win,’’ he added. Nehra also felt India had good ‘‘resources’’ to fall back on in Zaheer’s absence. ‘‘Apart from Ishant, Praveen Kumar and RP Singh have also been impressive in recent months. They have a good future ahead of them,’’ he said.

sehwag

MUMBAI: After being out of action for over two months following a shoulder injury that needed surgery, dashing opener Virender Sehwag is hoping

to return to top-notch cricket through the ICC Champions Trophy next month.

“I am hoping to play in the ICC Champions Trophy. My rehabilitation is going well,” he said.

Sehwag sustained the shoulder injury during the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League in South Africa in May while captaining Delhi Daredevils against eventual winners Deccan Chargers.

He was in the Indian squad for the World T20 Cup in England but could not play any part because of the injury to his right shoulder that needed surgery.

Sehwag underwent a surgery on June 11 after a lesion was identified in the injured shoulder and he was ruled out of action from between 12 to 16 weeks. The lesion was expected to heal in six weeks.

Indian team’s physio Nitin Patel was given the task of monitoring Sehwag’s rehabilitation process at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

The Champions Trophy, earlier termed the Mini World Cup, is also to be held in South Africa from September 22.

Sehwag said he will start batting practice from the first week of September and is now able to lift 10 kg with his injured shoulder.

“But I can’t throw or bowl yet,” he said. As a first step towards a recall into the Indian team, Sehwag, who has played in 69 Tests and 205 ODIs in which he has amassed a combined 12,000-plus runs, at a fabulous strike rate of close to 90, is to visit the NCA in Bangalore on August 15.

“I am set to go to Bangalore (NCA) on August 15 (for assessment of his progress from injury), said the ace batsman who has 26 hundreds to his credit in Tests and ODIs combined.

Significantly, the Indian selectors are to meet on August 16 to pick the Champions Trophy squad, as well as the ODI squad for the triangular series in Sri Lanka preceding it, on the next day at Chennai.

Sehwag’s selection for the ICC event would depend on the report that would be sent by the Indian team physiotherapist ahead of the selection panel meeting. He has been visiting the NCA after his surgery as part of his rehab process.

If he fails to make the cut for the Champions Trophy the next target is the seven-match ODI series against World Cup champions Australia that commences on October 25.

Indian cricket

Sachin Tendulkar has said he is not satisfied with his achievements and hopes to accumulate 15,000 runs and win the World Cup in 2011.

“I am not pleased yet with what I have done,” Tendulkar, who has scored a record 12773 Test runs at an average of 54.58 from 159 matches, said in an interview with the Wisden Cricketer. “Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs. He said he would be angry with me and would come and catch me if I didn’t. I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement, but that is not the only aim.” His other big cricketing ambition is to “win the World Cup in 2011″.

Tendulkar, 36, also spoke about how he has been consistently playing with pain. “I always play in pain, all the time. I played with a broken finger for the last three months, but you know when pain is manageable or not, and most of the time I can do it,” he said. “I can still do what I did when I was 25 but the body is changing, so your thought process has to change too. I have had to change how I think, which is about taking less risk.”

Tendulkar also disagreed with John Buchanan, former Australia coach, who felt Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork. “It is only his opinion; John Buchanan doesn’t have to be right all the time. If I couldn’t handle short deliveries, then I wouldn’t still be scoring runs,” he said. “Maybe he needs to change his opinion. There must be something very wrong with all the bowlers around the world that they have allowed me to score so many runs.”

Don Bradman had said Tendulkar reminded him of himself and the Indian batsman was the only modern player in Bradman’s all-time XI. Does Tendulkar think the same way about anyone? “I would say Virender Sehwag comes closest to my style.”

endulkar said he was not thinking about retirement yet but he would know when to quit cricket. “I will know when it is the right time, I won’t have to be dragged away. I am the person who will make the decision and I will know whether I still belong.”

He admitted life after cricket wouldn’t be easy. “It’s a scary thought. It has been there for my whole adult life, it will be difficult, I have been around for a long time, I can imagine when I finish I will long to face just 10 more balls but you have to move.”

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said he had “loved every minute” of the drawn third Ashes Test at Edgbaston despite being booed by some England supporters as he went into bat.

It was not the first time in this Ashes series, where England are 1-0 up with two to play, that Ponting has been jeered by crowds.

So concerned are home officials, according to the London Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, that England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke has written a message in the match programme for the fourth Test here at Headingley, which starts on Friday, urging fans to respect all players.

But Ponting, writing in the Daily Telegraph, didn’t appear too concerned by the boos, which he was “half-expecting”.

And he labelled the Barmy Army, the much criticised and vocal England supporters’ group as “the best sporting crowd in the world”.

Ponting added: “There is never anything untoward. It is always good, light-hearted stuff, and when England have a sniff of winning the volume goes up tenfold.

“They add a lot to the whole experience of the Ashes.

“The Edgbaston crowd were not the first to boo me this summer – but they were the loudest. Which makes sense, because Edgbaston is famous for being the bullring of English cricket.

“Whenever I walk out of the changing rooms I’m half-expecting it. I’m thinking: ‘Right, let’s get it out of the way, get the booing done, and then I’ll start building my innings.”

The Daily Telegraph also said that Clarke would remind spectators that Ponting, the third-highest run scorer in Test history, has “earned the respect and courtesy” of the crowd and that the game “may never see his like again”.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said authorities at Headingley would be doing all they could to ensure spectators did not cross the line, particularly in the notoriously raucous West Stand, where drunken antics are now commonplace.

“The reputation of Headingley has been built up over many years,” Regan told The Times.

“The West Stand has a reputation as a party area and we’ve got to break that. We’ve put together a series of measures to ensure that those people who want to watch the cricket are not disrupted by those who are simply there to have a good time.”

Regan added: “It’s about getting the balance between the Barmy Army being perceived as the official supporters of England and allowing them to become a disruptive voice at cricket grounds.

“By and large they are great supporters but there are probably a number of people who have crept into that organisation who see it as a great way of going overboard, drinking too much and causing problems for others.”

However, the Barmy Army insisted its members were not behind the jeering of Ponting at Edgbaston.

“We weren’t responsible for the booing,” said Katy Cooke, general manager of the group. “From what I can gather it was pretty tongue-in-cheek.

“He’s one of the best, if not the best, batsmen in the world and if we can get under his skin and stop him concentrating 100 percent on his batting, then we’re doing a service to the England team.”

Australia batsman Marcus North said being jeered by home crowds was a fact of life for opposition teams.

“A lot of us get booed out there,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “That’s the home-ground advantage, I guess. When England come and play in Australia, it?s exactly the same for them, so it is part and parcel of the game now.”

The International Cricket Council has called a meeting with MCC, custodian of the game’s law, to discuss the possibility of hosting a World Test Championship, according to media reports here.

With dwindling crowd and early retirements among players signalling that the longer version of the game is not in rude health, the MCC Cricket Committee last month called for a Test tournament that can rivals ODI and Twenty20 World Cups.

“A summit between the MCC’s world cricket committee and the ICC will be held in Dubai in November, where the proposal to bring in a radical new championship will be explored,” said a report in “The Daily Telegraph’.

The daily quoted MCC world cricket committee chairman Tony Lewis as saying that Test cricket was not in the pink of its health and the administrators should do everything to restore it as the pinnacle of the game.

“We are looking at two potential formats (for a world championship) at the moment but we can’t just put them into the public domain because people will shoot them down and say they cannot work, which is why we have to commit to proper research,” Lewis added.

Pointing out that England’s home series against the West Indies went almost unnoticed and Lewis, a former England captain, said the overwhelming turnout at the ongoing Ashes should not be a reason to get complacent.

“We have all accepted that Test cricket is the art of the game and we must protect it but we have to rebrand, market and merchandise it properly so it can survive,” he said.

“We perhaps relax during an Ashes series about he future of Test cricket, but it has shown that it is the ultimate test of temperament and skill. It is the pinnacle of the game,” he added.

“Test match cricket must fight back to ensure it survives around the world. All of the player surveys conducted in recent years say Test cricket is under threat, which is something we simply can’t ignore.

“By the time of our meeting in November, we hope to have more evidence that Test match cricket is under threat and to have conducted research into the issue,” he said.