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When you’re next in a book store, look out for . That is the title of a book Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, is threatening to write, presumably to shed light on some of the decisions made in South African cricket that have been questioned in the aftermath of back-to-back series losses.As expected when defeats are analysed, everything from selection to the make-up of the support staff will come under scrutiny and, with South Africa being shot out for their two lowest totals since readmission over the last two series, the absence of a batting coach has been glaring. But Domingo explained it was not for lack of trying.”Everybody thinks we have not been looking for a batting coach but we’ve been trying for the last year,” he said. “Every team’s got it. England have got one, Australia have got one, India have got one. We’ve offered the position to quite a few people and we offered the position whilst things were going well not whilst we’ve been bowled out for 80 and 90.”In the near future, South Africa hope one of the people they have offered the job to will take it. “We’ve been looking for somebody and we’ve got somebody in mind. We are waiting for him to commit to us. We’ve had a few people who said they were interested but they wouldn’t commit to it simply because traveling is not that fun when you are away from your family for a long time and when there is a lot of pressure and a lot of criticism you are faced with when things don’t go well. It’s probably easier to say it and write about it than to actually get down and do it.”Domingo did not reveal who the “somebody” was and was not asked whether former captain Graeme Smith could be the man, although that seems unlikely. Smith became the fourth batting consultant in Domingo’s tenure, after Gary Kirsten, Mike Hussey and Lance Klusener, when he was roped in for a net session ahead of the Newlands Test. Hashim Amla, captain at the time, thought Smith had signed on for the full series but his commentary commitments prevented him from doing that.So continued a drawn-out saga which started when Smith suggested there was unhappiness in the team camp in Durban, where the first Test was played, before being pulled into the tent. Once back out, following the Johannesburg Test, Smith said everybody should be questioned, including team management.One South Africa player, Dean Elgar, moved quickly to defend the back room, who he said deserved a lot of praise. AB de Villiers, who was criticised in the media by selector and commentator Ashwell Prince, remembered how when some former players were active, they said they would “never become like that” and take shots at the team.Against the waves of attack, the South Africa squad stood firm, which pleased Domingo even more than the consolation win in the final Test against England.”The main thing I take out of it was the way side responded to a lot of noise that has come from the public and the media,” he said. “When you have one or two bad series, everybody makes you sound like you are the worst players and the worst coaches in the world which is not necessarily the case.”That’s why when you do have one or two good series you are not necessarily the best side in the world and the best coaches in the world. You’ve got to keep a balance. Our players have maintained their composure really well through some tough times. To play the way they have played these last couple of days makes the coaching staff really proud because it has been a tough series.”The Centurion win may silence some of those sounds but even if it doesn’t, Domingo has learned to shut most of it out. “When you’re losing, there’s always going to be a lot of noise so you’ve just got to believe what you are doing as a team is good enough to withstand that,” he said. “Hopefully this performance will quieten that noise until something else comes up.”There may be another six months before that something else actually happens because that is the gap between Tests for South Africa. In that time, despite inactivity, South Africa hope to be able to find some of what they had before, which Domingo somewhat enviously pointed out England have now.”England are very fortunate that they have what South Africa had a year or two ago – four frontline seamers and a spinner,” Domingo said. “South Africa don’t have someone like Ben Stokes who scores hundreds and takes five-wicket hauls. Jacques Kallis used to do that. Their bowling all-round strength is a massive factor. Bowlers win you games and that has been the difference as far as I’m concerned – they have sustained the pressure a lot better than we did throughout the series.”Questions over the lack of a South African allrounder since Kallis have also swirled. Perhaps Domingo’s book will have some answers.

The Indian Premier League has advised its eight franchisees to avoid brand conflicts “as far as possible” while using top players on their rolls for team endorsements.The IPL rules specify that each player will have to give ten days to the franchise for team endorsements, which should involve a minimum of three players from the team. But the franchises were reminded by IPL officials at a meeting in Mumbai today to avoid any potential legal hurdles by opting for a safer route.”Why get into those legal hassles, was the common line at the meeting,” a franchise representative who was present at the meeting said. “There is scope for conflict. For instance, we can insist that a top player, who has a personal endorsement with a particular brand, endorse the team which may be associated with a rival brand. And if the player pulls out, he will even have to face a cut in the fee he gets from the team. But we will try to avoid all that.”All the top Indian players have hefty endorsement deals with corporate majors like Pepsi and Reebok while the Australians have global team sponsors like Emirates and Foster’s to deal with.”It’s just the first year and everybody is trying to figure out where things stand, so there will be a spirit of accommodation,” an Indian cricketer, who is part of the IPL, said.The IPL officials, including Lalit Modi, its commissioner, also briefed franchise representatives on the rules governing the marketing and branding opportunities available for the tournament.

Scorecard
Wicketkeeper Mithun Ali and left-hand batsman Nadimuddin slammed centuries for Bangladesh Under-19s to set up a convincing 111-run win over Nepal Under-19s in the first one-dayer at the Khulna Divisional Stadium.After being sent in, Bangladesh were in a spot of bother, losing two wickets to medium-pacer Paras Khadka. However, from that stage onwards Bangladesh were in control of the match with Mithun and Nadimuddin putting on a massive 261 runs for the third wicket. Mithun struck 14 fours and three sixes in his 137-ball 142 while Nadimuddin carted 13 boundaries in his 134-ball 118. Their superb partnership saw Bangladesh set a daunting target of 303 for Nepal, who did themselves no favours by bowling 18 wides. Of the seven bowlers Nepal employed, only their opening bowlers, Khadka and Amrit Bhattarai, managed to keep their economy-rates below six.Nepal’s chase got off to a poor start as Mahesh Chhetri was run out with only four runs on the board. A 65-run stand followed between Anil Mandal and Gyanendra Malla but their sedate pace of scoring stymied Nepal’s chances of overhauling the target. Mandal and Khadka then stitched together another slow and steady partnership of 59 runs from 97 balls. A flurry of wickets saw the visitors stumble to 139 for 5 and despite being gifted 33 extras, Nepal fell well short of their target, mustering only 191. Barring wicketkeeper Mithun, all of Bangladesh’s players bowled during Nepal’s innings.The next match of the three-game series is at the same venue on Saturday.

The Ranji season has reached the stage at which teams have to keep an eye on other results in their respective pools. Karnataka, sitting in fifth place in the Super League Group A with eight points from three games, will want to make the most of this match against Rajasthan. Already thrashed three times this season, the young Rajasthan team are under intense pressure to avoid relegation.Rahul Dravid’s role in Karnataka’s first two games was crucial, but he and Anil Kumble are back in the Indian side and won’t be returning this Ranji season and Karnataka will have to rely on their core strength going forward. The star is Robin Uthappa, but he is yet to ignite this domestic season as he did last season with his exciting hundred here at the Gangothri Glades. Thilak Naidu, the wicketkeeper-batsman, and C Raghu, the offspinning allrounder, are key players and have done well this season.The bowling will again be led by Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa, the right-arm medium-pace duo, and Sunil Joshi, the veteran left-arm spinner. There’s little to speak of in terms of back-up, but with Rajasthan’s batting struggling so far that could well prove enough.Gagan Khoda, who played two one-day internationals for India in 1998, is the only Rajasthan batsman in form. His 244 runs are the high for the team by some distance, and highlight his side’s plight this year: they just haven’t been able to put up big totals. Pankaj Singh, the 22-year-old fast bowler, has done well in the last two seasons and has India A experience. That aside, the cupboard looks fairly bare this year. Rajasthan appeared to show a bit of fight in their last game, against Maharashtra, but the bowlers need runs to defend.A cursory palm across the surface showed it was hard, but there’s a tinge of green too. Vijay Bhardwaj, Karnataka’s coach, and Nagaraja, the curator, concurred in their readings of the wicket. “We’ve tried to make a sporting pitch,” Nagaraja said. “It is definitely looking like a four-day surface, with lots of bounce for the quick bowlers. That said, it will also assist the spinners late on the second day.” Bowling first may seem like an option, but it might still be better to bat first and see out the first session.This is only the second match at Gangothri Glades since the Ranji Trophy returned to Mysore last season after 18 years. Karnataka won that match against Haryana by 253 runs, with Uthappa and Barrington Rowland lighting up the third day with a stunning 213-run opening stand. Rowland has been dropped for this game following a string of average performances following that innings.Situated on the scenic University of Mysore campus, with the Chamundi Hills in the background, the large, tree-ringed ground bore a festive look. (tents) were being set up, as were loudspeakers and an array of coloured chairs. A good amount of sponsorship has been generated for this match, the sponsors including Reid & Taylor.A good weekend crowd is expected, made up primarily of university students. Spreading cricket into the smaller parts of the country is important and a rollicking innings from the likes of Uthappa or a stellar spell from the likes of Pankaj would be apt advertisement for a town where top-level cricket seldom rolls through.Teams:Karnataka (probable): 1 Robin Uthappa, 2 KB Pawan, 3 Sudhindra Shinde, 4 C Raghu, 5 Yere Goud (capt), Thilak Naidu (wk), 7 B Akhil, 8 Sunil Joshi, 9 R Vinay Kumar, 10 KP Apanna, 11 NC Aiyappa.Rajasthan (probable): 1 Rohit Jhalani (wk), 2 Gagan Khoda, 3 Nikhil Doru, 4 Vineet Saxena, 5 Robin Bist, 6 Rajesh Bishnoi, 7 Afroz Khan, 8 Shamsher Singh, 9 Pankaj Singh, 10 Mohammad Aslam (capt), 11 Nishan Singh.

James Bruce has announced his retirement from professional cricket to pursue a career in the City.Bruce represented Eton and Durham UCCE before signing for Hampshire as a fast-medium seamer in 2003. He was a member of the side that won the C&G Trophy in 2005 and enjoyed his most successful summers in 2006 and 2007, taking 38 and 39 wickets. He was awarded his county cap in 2006.”The decision to retire has been a decision that I have not made lightly,” said Bruce. “I’ve been gaining work experience in the City over the last three winters with the intention of developing a career for when I had finished playing. Whilst initially I didn’t know when that might be, I was always conscious of the importance of preparing for life after cricket.”The recent work that I have done this winter has made me realise that the transition from sport into the working world is not as easy a process as I originally thought. I have thoroughly enjoyed the work I have been doing and became aware that the longer I left this transition the harder it would be for me to secure a career in exactly what I wanted to do.””Over the last few years Brucey has put an enormous amount of work into getting his body and mind into a position where he has proved a formidable opponent for opposition batters,” Paul Terry, Hampshire’s coach, said. “It’s not an exaggeration to say, in the right conditions, he has become one of the better English-born bowlers. Having witnessed the work he put into his fitness in Perth in the early years, it always gave me a sense of pride to see how well his career had developed – a sentiment shared, no doubt, by all those who have helped him along the way.”In 49 first-class matches, Bruce took 124 wickets at 34.07. In 31 one-day outings his 44 wickets cost 22.18. he had few pretensions as a batsman and his 243 runs came at an average of 7.14.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

It wasn’t a one-sided drubbing like the Kochi game, but the Australians won all the key moments in the contest to sweep to a 47-run win in Hyderabad. The visitors now have a 2-0 lead after three games of the seven-match series. Following a coruscating 67-ball 89 by Andrew Symonds which powered them to 290, Australia survived an equally brilliant 121 by Yuvraj Singh and restricted the Indian run-chase to 243.In a series so far punctuated by verbal skirmishes, this match was surprisingly incident-free, but the cricket was often scintillating. First Symonds provided the sparkle with a stunning assault on the bowlers, scoring 66 from his last 35 balls and combining in a 123-run fourth-wicket stand with Michael Clarke (59) – a record for the wicket for Australia versus India. When India lost three early wickets to slump to 13 for 3 within five overs, it seemed like another pasting was in store, but Yuvraj, who had been in glorious form in the ICC World Twenty20, carried on from where he had left off in South Africa.With three top batsmen – including Rahul Dravid – already back in the hutch, Yuvraj’s start was understandably slow. He added 95 in 20 overs with Sachin Tendulkar. And though Tendulkar was mostly circumspect, he unveiled a couple of glorious drives down the ground before falling against the run of play seven short of his half-century.Yuvraj, though, was unstoppable. He started off by targeting Brad Hogg, dancing down the pitch, slog-sweeping and cover-driving fours, and pulling one fractionally short high into the stands for six. Completely assured in footwork and shot-selection, he made room to carve boundaries to the off side, or moved across to pull to leg, all with consummate ease. With Mahendra Singh Dhoni matching him in aggression, the pair gave India a real shot at victory.Australia, though, were not to be denied. Brett Lee, who had bowled with much fire to nail two early blows, struck again in his first over of a new spell. After being clubbed over his head for four by Dhoni, Lee shortened his length and forced an edge caught easily by Adam Gilchrist. The contest was effectively over.Yuvraj still had a few individual battles to win, however. Stuart Clark, who had suffered at his hands in the World Twenty20, was at the receiving end here too, being creamed over extra-cover for six and then driven through the same area for four more in successive balls. Mitchell Johnson, who bowled with pace, swing and accuracy in yet another thoroughly impressive performance, ended the fun with a scorching yorker that swung in and plucked out middle stump. It was a worthy delivery to end a worthy knock, and the rest was a mere formality.It was a day to savour for the No. 5 batsmen of either side. Symonds came in to bat after India had undone much of the damage they had suffered early in the innings with a tight spell by the slower bowlers. The opening partnership between Matthew Hayden and Gilchrist yielded a frenetic 76 in less than 14 overs, but thereafter, with the pitch losing pace and the bowling getting more accurate, only 35 came in a 12-over period in which Ricky Ponting – back in the team at the expense of the luckless Brad Haddin, and leading Australia for the 150th time in ODIs – struggled to come to terms with the slow surface.

After 30 overs Australia only had 140 on the board, with Harbhajan Singh especially outstanding with his accuracy and control over length. However, Symonds and Clarke had spent that time usefully, nudging the singles and familiarising themselves with the pace of the pitch. When the time came for the assault, both batsmen – especially Symonds – were ready, and the results were spectacular.Two thick edges by Clarke off Irfan Pathan were the early signs, before Symonds stamped his authority on the game. Pathan’s change of pace had troubled some of the batsmen earlier, but Symonds was quick to spot it and deposit a pull over long-on; Yuvraj, so niggardly in his first spell, then felt the heat in the 44th, as Symonds slapped a six over long-on, another over midwicket, and then pulled fours off successive deliveries. The timing, which had been a problem early on, was suddenly silken, and the runs came in a deluge – 83 in the last ten, and 150 in the last 20. Yuvraj tried his best to neutralise the damage later in the afternoon, but one man’s brilliance wasn’t enough to stop the sustained excellence of an entire team.

New Zealand and Bangladesh are in discussions to play a Twenty20 charity match to raise funds for survivors of Cyclone Sidr, which devastated Bangladesh last week.Although Bangladesh officials have already said the match will be played in New Zealand on December 23, just before the start of a one-day series between the teams, a New Zealand spokesman said discussions were ongoing. A warm-up one-day match between Bangladesh and Northern Districts is currently scheduled for that date.Bangladesh’s tour includes three one-day internationals, starting on December 26 in Auckland, and two Tests in Dunedin and Wellington during early January.

Paceman Alan Mullally prolonged his sizzling vein of form with another fivewicket haul today for Hampshire on the opening day of the CountyChampionship clash with Leicestershire at Southampton.The left armer claimed the wickets of Darren Maddy (8) and Ben Smith (5) inhis first spell of the day to have the visitors at a shaky 28/2 beforereturning later in the afternoon to remove Vince Wells (22), DominicWilliamson (4) and Neil Burns (0) as Leicestershire battled to a stumpsscore of 265/9 after losing the toss.Following his fourteen wicket haul against Derbyshire last week, Mullally(5/84) was always likely to be the man to whom Hampshire looked forinspiration in the absence of Shane Warne. To that end, he did not let histeam down. He bowled with control in helpfully overcast conditions,seaming the ball both ways and maintaining an excellent line to keep theinjury-hit Leicestershire batting line-up under consistent pressure.Dimitri Mascarenhas (2/59) also performed well, snaring the vital wicketsof Aftab Habib (61) – dismissed with the very first ball after the playershad returned to the field after a rain delay in mid-afternoon – and DarrenStevens (12).Leicestershire, which had entered the match with Chris Lewis, James Ormond,Phil DeFreitas and Anil Kumble all missing from its line-up, meanwhilerelied largely on three players for its end of day position. Habib’scombination of resolute defence against straight deliveries and strongdriving of anything loose earned him the honour of being the top scorer forhis team for far from the first time this season.Jonathan Dakin (60) also showed his usual fluency before being dismissed in the second last over of the day, while opener Iain Sutcliffe (53) helped to hold things steady at the top after the two early wickets had fallen at the other end. In assembling his first half century of the summer, Sutcliffe formed a half of the best partnership of the innings – one of ninety-two with Habib for the third wicket.Dakin was also involved in a crucial partnership, finding unlikely support in the form of number ten Carl Crowe (26*) to raise a priceless seventy-one runs for the ninth wicket just when Mullally seemed ready to work his way right through the bottom half of a batting list again.

Harbhajan Singh’s appeal over his three-Test ban will be heard in Adelaide on January 29 and 30, after the Test series between Australia and India, leaving him free to play the last two Tests. New Zealand judge John Hansen, the commissioner appointed to hear the appeal, has agreed to hold the hearing after the fourth Test in Adelaide following formal requests from Cricket Australia and the Indian board.”We would have preferred the appeal to be held earlier but it was not possible,” Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said. “Both CA and the BCCI have requested the hearing to be held after the Test series for logistical reasons and, following due consideration, Justice Hansen agreed.”The reality is that it is likely to go into a second day as lawyers will be involved,” he said, “so we needed to have two clear days to assign to it. With just three full days between the third and fourth Tests, we were conscious of the teams’ travel arrangements and preparations for the match.”The provisions of the ICC Code of Conduct indicate that the hearing should be held within seven days of the commissioner being appointed but it may be delayed if circumstances make it unfeasible and the commissioner agrees, as in this case.Harbhajan was banned for three Tests after being found guilty under Level 3 of the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct following an incident that took place during the second Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. ICC match referee Mike Procter upheld the umpires’ report that Harbhajan had made a racist remark against Andrew Symonds and served him with the ban.

Pakistan A have bolstered their pace attack for the second Test against Australia A in Lahore with the return of Mohammad Sami, who has recovered from the viral infection which ruled him out of the first match in Faisalabad.Injuries to two fast bowlers has resulted in more changes to the bowling attack. Anwar Ali replaces left-arm seamer Najaf Shah, who is nursing a back injury while Abdur Rauf, who top-scored with 73 in the first innings in Faisalabad, is down with a groin strain. Offspinner Tahir Khan comes in for Atif Maqbool.In the batting department, the selectors have included opener Khurram Manzoor, who scored a career-best 200 against Mumbai in the Nissar Trophy last week. He replaces former Pakistan batsman Hasan Raza, who scored 0 and 3 in Faisalabad.Pakistan suffered a big defeat in Faisalabad, going down by an innings and 203 runs. The second and final match of the series begins on September 19.Squad: Faisal Iqbal (capt), Taufeeq Umar, Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor, Yasir Hameed, Naved Latif, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mansoor Amjad, Tahir Khan, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Khalil, Mohammad Irshad, Anwar Ali, Adnan Raza, Rizwan Ahmed