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Michael Kasprowicz says the West Indian bowlers could make an impact © Getty Images

Michael Kasprowicz believes West Indies’ unknown fast-bowling contingent might spring a surprise this month. Kasprowicz, the Queensland fast bowler who was left out of both Super Series squads after the Ashes, said he was looking forward to seeing the tourists during Thursday’s four-day tour-match at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.”We hear that there’s a lot of pace with their bowlers,” he told . “They’re a little shorter than what the West Indian teams of the past have been. Everyone’s pretty keen to see what their bowling will contain for the [Test] series. They’re coming into the games sight unseen and they could provide some impact.”West Indies face a tough workout against a Queensland side boasting eight players with international experience, including Matthew Hayden and Shane Watson. The opposition is only one problem for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who believes the squad needed another tour match before the first Test at the Gabba on November 3.Chanderpaul plans to name a full-strength side for the warm-up fixture, but will wait until shortly before the match to finalise the line-up. “We want everybody to have a go and there is [only] one game before the Test match,” he said. “You want everybody to have a shot at it and a little bit of time before the game.”Giving the bowlers a lengthy run will be a crucial goal for West Indies, but showers and storms have been predicted for Brisbane on Thursday. “We have a bunch of young fast bowlers who are pretty sharp so it’s a good group of guys to pick from,” he said. “Fidel Edwards is pretty sharp. He bowls at over 90mph and he’s also a wicket taker along with Jermaine Lawson. Tino Best is pretty sharp and also takes wickets. Corey [Collymore] is one of our best bowlers.”Queensland squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Matthew Hayden, Martin Love, Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds, James Hopes, Chris Hartley, Chris Simpson, Andrew Bichel, Ryan Le Loux, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz.West Indies squad Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Jermaine Lawson, Daren Powell, Corey Collymore, Marlon Samuels.

Mohammad Kaif: ‘The conditions have been hard for everyone. Even if you’re just standing on the field, you start sweating’© AFP

On returning to the side despite having been tagged a one-day player for so long
I was feeling good, and I did quite well in England, where I made two 50s and also batted higher up the order. I’m making my comeback after three years.On why he was in so much distress
I was cramping up. I don’t think I drank enough water. I’d had viral fever in Bangalore, and I think it was a combination of two things, weakness and dehydration.On what he considered an achieveable fourth-innings target
It depends, it’s hard to say. Our spinners are bowling well and Zak [Zaheer Khan] chipped in with a crucial wicket at the end. We’ll be looking to chase 100, or maybe even less.On the pitch and the conditions
It’s quite slow and low. The spinners are getting turn and bounce. The conditions have been hard for everyone. Even if you’re just standing on the field, you start sweating.On how he approached the innings
It was important to remain patient. I had a crucial partnership with Parthiv Patel. But the conditions were not easy.On India’s lower-order batting
In the first Test, Irfan [Pathan] and Parthiv batted really well. We’ve been putting a lot of effort in. Against teams like Australia, it’s always a close contest, and the team needs every run it can get.On his run-out
It was quite funny to be honest. I was a little lost, unable to concentrate.On whether Australia raised any objection to his having a runner
They were a little confused about whether to allow a runner or not. But I told them that I was not completely fit, and that I was cramping up.On getting Gilchrist at the fag end of the day’s play
It was a great wicket to get. He’s a player who can change the game at any stage. He made that hundred in Bangalore and has done well in these conditions. It will definitely help us to have new batsmen at the crease tomorrow.

Plans to resume cricket contact between India and Pakistan, even if below full international level, have been welcomed by the International Cricket Council.The two Asian countries have said Under-19 and A matches will be the first contact between the sides in either country.ICC president Ehsan Mani said he was hopeful the lesser matches would be a stepping stone to the resumption of full international contact between the side nations.”India and Pakistan on the cricket field is one of the world’s great sporting rivalries. When these teams met in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, the passion that the match generated, and its ability have a positive impact on people in both nations was apparent.”Cricket, like all sport, has the capacity to promote understanding and generate goodwill and I would urge the political leaders in both countries to allow the game of cricket to assist in building relations between these two nations rather than being used for a political purpose,” he said.

Shaun Pollock was grinning from ear to ear after his side had thumped India by nine wickets in the first Test at Goodyear Park on Tuesday. That he took 10 wickets in the match, the first time he has done so in 59 Tests, was an added reason to celebrate. Pollock was of the view that his team had done remarkably well to recover from the opening day thrashing to come back in this manner and still win the game in three and a half days. Excerpts from an interview:Q: It has been a long wait for you, to get 10 wickets in a match…A: Yeah, it has been. I have been close to it a couple of times, but a few frustrating things have happened. It came to a point when I thought someone was against me.Q: The South African fight-back was remarkable in this game…A: If you want to win, you have got to learn to win in every condition. I think to fight back from 380 down and to come back as we have is a credit to us. It was a difficult situation in which we found ourselves in the first innings, but the boys fought back and they batted superbly. That’s what it is all about, to turn things around and come out on top.Q: Lance Klusener’s hundred couldn’t have come at a better time for your team…A: It must have been frustrating for the Indians, having got us six down. It allowed us to get a lead of 184, and they were four down before they were past our score. And we knew that hopefully we could get the lower order quickly.Q: Did you expect the game to end so quickly?A: I didn’t expect it to end so quickly. I thought the game would go till tomorrow. The guys did a good job. We knew that if we could get some early wickets, we could put pressure on them.Q: Do you think you have the same kind of support from your bowlers at the other end?A: I think there has been a bit of difficulty there. We haven’t played a lot of four-day cricket. The guys are probably a bit rusty. The players who just got back into Test cricket took some time, but then they were better in the second innings. The wicket was also a good one, and you knew that the way it was bouncing, you wanted to keep as many men as possible in catching positions, and that left gaps in the field.Q: Any impressions of the innings Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwagplayed on the first day?A: Sachin played very well. He is one of those batters who dominate at the crease. The margin of error is very small. He really picks on a bad ball. Sehwag was marvellous too, to get a hundred in his first Test innings.Q: What is your impression of Makhaya Ntini? Do you think he remains a potential match winner?A: I think it is important for us to have Ntini. He is a strike bowler, and there is always a place for a strike bowler. I think, in world cricket, fast bowlers have always dominated, no matter what the conditions and the wicket are, and he did a good job. He is back in the new set-up, and it takes a while to settle down totally, but I thought that, for a first game, he did pretty well.Q: Klusener did not speak to the media after his hundred. Is it part of his preparation to skip press conferences?A: Lance is Lance. That’s what probably I can say.Q: How did the wicket play in this first Test?A: I think this was the kind of wicket at Bloemfontein where you could put a lot of pressure on the batsmen. There was quite a bit of grass, and that was the reason I decided to field first. It was important for us to get 20 wickets. We knew the wicket would get better as the game went on. But then, this wicket always had something in it for the bowlers, right till the fourth afternoon, if you could put it in the right place and bend your back a bit…Q: Your batting performance was quite in contrast to your bowling effort…A: It was short and sweet, wasn’t it.Q: Herschelle Gibbs, it seems, has now a long future in this South African team…A: He is a gem for us. He bats with real freedom. He is a pleasure to watch when you sit there. He has come a long way, and he has really stepped up the gear.

Match facts

Thursday, October 1
Start time 9.30am local (0730GMT)Azhar Ali has arrived to take charge of Pakistan’s ODI team•Associated Press

The big picture

Pakistan have had a topsy-turvy year in ODI cricket. They made the quarterfinals of the World Cup, but never really looked like threatening for the title, losing to India, West Indies and Australia along the way. They were then whitewashed by Bangladesh, before surging to an emotional victory in the historic home series against Zimbabwe. After that they scrapped to their first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka since 2006, and after the high of their 2-0 win in the T20Is, they start favourites against Zimbabwe on Thursday.Conversely, there has generally been a sameness to the tenor of Zimbabwe’s one-day campaigns. They have looked good, and more often than not been competitive, but in 15 matches this year they have only won two. The second of those was their stunning victory over New Zealand in their highest successful chase at Harare Sports Club. But what happened next is typical of the side. Zimbabwe are probably one of the only teams that could register a record chase and a ten-wicket defeat in the same series. In fact, they are playing the only other team for whom such peaks and troughs are the norm: Pakistan.Indeed, the T20I series showed that there isn’t a great deal to separate these teams in these sorts of conditions. They have also seen a fair amount of each other this year, with Pakistan prevailing in yet another match that Zimbabwe have won at the Gabba during the World Cup before the Zimbabweans performed entertainingly, but without success, during their tour to Pakistan in May.Pakistan and Zimbabwe also share a few of the same concerns heading into these one-day games. Brittle top-order batting has been a problem for both teams, as well as an inability to rotate the strike when boundaries aren’t forthcoming. With the bowling attacks looking in fine fettle, the opening ODI could be decided by whichever side is able to coax more industriousness out of their batsmen.

Form guide

Zimbabwe LLWLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LWWLW

In the spotlight

Sean Williams was one of the few batsmen for whom rotation of the strike did not appear to be a problem in the T20 games, and given the 360 degree range of his strokes in limited-overs cricket he could be vital to Zimbabwe’s batting success on a slow wicket. Williams hasn’t scored quite as many runs as Zimbabwe have needed from him this year, and he’s also yet to make a one-day hundred.After an early blunder against Bangladesh, Azhar Ali appears to have settled well into his role as Pakistan’s one-day captain. He scored heavily against Zimbabwe at home, and continued to contribute as Pakistan took their away series against Sri Lanka 3-2. With Pakistan’s top-order wobbles in the T20s, Ali should bring some stability, and he will look to stamp his authority on this series as quickly as possible.

Team news

They weren’t officially part of Zimbabwe’s squad on Wednesday, but Matabeleland Tuskers opener Brian Chari, legspinning allrounder Tino Mutumbodzi and medium-pacer Tawanda Mupariwa all trained with Zimbabwe the day before the first ODI. The idea of opening the batting with wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami had been discussed within the team prior to this series, but that seems unlikely now and the player himself is apparently unwilling to make the move. Chari could play, but it’s unclear how many changes Zimbabwe will want to make to their XI.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Brian Chari, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Hamilton Masakadza, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 8 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 9 Tino Mutumbodzi, 10 Graeme Cremer, 11 Tinashe Panyangara.Pakistan have welcomed a number of new players to their squad, including one-day captain Azhar Ali. He and the other new members of the squad spent Tuesday and Wednesday training and acclimatising to conditions. Ali will slot straight into the opening position, while the Twenty20 matches will have given Pakistan a good idea of what sorts of combinations they will need to succeed. Pakistan have also made it clear that they would like to have a look at offspinner Bilal Asif before their series against England, and he could strengthen their spin attack in helpful conditions.Pakistan (possible): 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Aamer Yamin, 7 Bilal Asif, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad Irfan.

Pitch and conditions

There was stark contrast between the bone-dry, off-white pitch and the lush green outfield as the groundsmen made their final preparations on Wednesday afternoon. Expect another dry surface that could play a little slow and low, and will aid spinners and quicks with a skill-set to suit the conditions. The early start could mean swing in the morning, but that won’t last much more than an hour. The weather is expected to be hazy, but warm.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan’s openers have registered more 50-plus stands than anyone else in 2015. Their first wicket averages 56.95, the highest for any team in 2015. Pakistan’s openers have added 1139 runs in 20 innings, including four hundreds and six fifty stands.
• Of the 51 ODIs between these sides, Pakistan have won 45 and Zimbabwe three. There have also been two games with no result and one tie.
• Of Zimbabwe’s current squad, Hamilton Masakadza has scored the most runs against Pakistan, with 476 in 14 innings at an average of 34, including four fifties.

Quotes

“It’s not a quick fix. The answers come from two or three different sources. But initially it has to come from within. That’s the major area.”
“They’ve been training today, and they’ll train again tomorrow as we try to get them used to the conditions.”

West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice has reportedly agreed terms regarding a move away from the London Stadium this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report from Spain (via Caught Offside), which claims that the 23-year-old has agreed personal terms with Chelsea ahead of a potential switch to Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window.

The report goes on to state that West Ham would demand a figure of around £120m in order to part with the England international at the end of the current campaign, while it is also stated that Manchester United are another side extremely keen on a move for the midfielder this summer.

Catastrophe

Considering just how crucial Rice is within David Moyes’ side, should the West Ham board go on to sanction the sale of the midfield maestro this summer – even if it is for a figure in the region of £120m – it would undoubtedly be something of a catastrophe for the Hammers.

Indeed, the £75m-rated 22-year-old has arguably been the Irons’ most impressive player since breaking into the senior squad back in 2017, earning a SofaScore match rating of 6.72 over 26 Premier League appearances in 2017/18, 6.94 over 34 league outings in 2018/19, 6.99 over 38 top-flight fixtures in 2019/20 and 7.08 over 32 games last season.

However, it has undoubtedly been over his 26 Premier League appearances in the current campaign in which the £62k-per-week Englishman has proven that he is truly a world-class midfielder, scoring one goal, registering four assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.7 interceptions, 2.4 tackles, 51.9 passes and winning 5.4 duels – at a success rate of 58% – per game.

These returns have seen the player who Teddy Sheringham dubbed “invaluable” average a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.20, not only ranking him as Moyes’ best performer in the Premier League but also as the joint 26th-best player in the division as a whole.

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As such, it is clear for all to see that losing the services of the club’s “leader” – in the words of Luke Chadwick – this summer would come as a major blow to West Ham’s progression as a team – as, without Rice in the middle of the park, the Hammers can forget making a push for a top-four finish next season.

In other news: Moyes can axe “unbelievable” £31k-p/w WHU ace by unleashing “fearless” 20 y/o “unit”

An exhaustingly muggy day in the field at Queens Park Oval in Port of Spain was sufficient reminder to England A that success in the Busta Cup will require hard graft and stamina.Thanks to their hard-working seamers, England A finished in a good position after a tough first day’s play against Trinidad and Tobago, with six wickets in the bag and the tail-end still to contend with.They had to work hard for their wickets under a boiling sun but with the sweat dripping off them they stuck to their task and for much of the day restricted Trinidad to just two an over. But the final session, using both the old then the new ball, saw the run rate increase with Lincoln Roberts opening his shoulders for a superbly entertaining 62.His picked off the runs effortlessly and when he was finally out, taken unawares by the first delivery in a new spell from Paul Franks, his tempo was maintained by Keno Mason, a nimble-footed wicketkeeper who used his judgement well in seeking out the scoring balls.England’s slow over rate kept them in the field half an hour after the scheduled close but even with the shine still on the new ball, the weary attack posed few threats.The bowler’s energy peaked during the afternoon session when Chris Silverwood, who bowled superbly from the time his skipper Mark Alleyne lost the toss and put his bowlers into action, had the slow scoring Imran Jan lbw for 24. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief since the 21-year-old left-hander, playing only his fifth game for Trinidad, had been at the crease for more than two hours and faced 104 balls, 54 of them spent with just one run to his name.The sigh was followed by a gasp when in the same over, Silverwood had Dennis Rampersad, who had made 27, dropped at second slip by Vikram Solanki. The fielder was distraught so when another chance came to him two overs later, off the same bowler, Solanki made amends, taking an excellent low catch a foot in front of him.It was Silverwood’s third wicket of the day and accounted for Richard Smith, filling in as captain for Suruj Raganooth who withdrew at the start after his father died overnight. Although he failed to add to his tally in the final session, his figures of 3-24 from 21 overs, ten of which were maidens, reflected a fine and whole-hearted bowling effort on a flat but pacy pitch.Nottinghamshire seamer Franks proved most effective in breaking up menacing partnerships. He missed out to Ryan Sidebottom in the first match in Grenada but when selectors decided to go with the same formation for Trinidad, including just one specialist spinner, it was Franks who got the nod.His first spell was disappointing though the electronic scoreboard obligingly failed to recall this fact when a power cut ruled it out of action, leaving the batting line up from the last time England played West Indies in Trinidad in 1998 frozen on the board for the entire day.Franks was undeterred and he returned to have Rampersad caught behind for 39 off a delivery that was veering wide of the off-stump. After tea he trapped the fluent Roberts lbw after he had hit nine boundaries from 88 balls.The slow outfield helped England’s cause early on – the morning session producing just 56 runs – but later, the Trinidadian middle order made good use of their local knowledge by hitting the ball over the top, Mason demonstrating the effectiveness of the tactic by pulling Alex Tudor for six over square leg in the closing stages.By the close, Trinidad had recovered well to 211 for six with Mason still there on 32. England’s bowlers have a demanding second morning ahead if they are to restrict the first innings total to 250, as planned.

Shoaib Malik: “His [Lawson’s] presence is a big support to us because he minutely watches the performance of every player, listing their mistakes and then works on them” © AFP

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, has dismissed the suggestion that the team batting second is likely to win the World Twenty20 matches in South Africa. “If you have a strong bowling line-up up you can bat first and put pressure on the other team,” Malik told agencies.Pakistan play New Zealand in the semi-final in Cape Town today and Malik said, apart from making any major mistakes, his side had to avoid fielding lapses, like giving away extra runs, to reach the final.Malik gave credit to coach Geoff Lawson for Pakistan’s improvement in fielding. “His [Lawson’s] presence is a big support to us because he minutely watches the performance of every player, listing their mistakes and then works on them,” Malik said.Lawson, in turn, praised the team for proving the critics wrong and reaching the semi-final stage of the tournament.”We faced different types of rivals – from the preliminary round to the Super Eights phase – and so there were different levels of competitions; obviously there were varied challenges midway but the team overcame all of them successfully,” said Lawson, who is on his first assignment with Pakistan.”We lost one game to India and I would say it was a decent defeat as we almost had won and then suddenly could not perform in the bowl-out format which was new to the players,” he said. “After beating Scotland the way we played against Sri Lanka and then Australia is a credit to establish the team’s reputation as a winning side.”Lawson also said Pakistan’s pace attack in Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul could trouble any batting line-up in the world. “We [also] have some competent batsmen besides a couple of good allrounders. So I think it is a right combination needed by a team.” But the team may have to rethink their strategies in the event Asif, who is doubtful to play after he sustained an elbow injury, is unavailable to lead the attack.

Inzamam-ul-Haq cannot take part in the Champions Trophy as he was dropped from the original squad © Getty Images

Inzamam-ul-Haq cannot take any part in the Champions Trophy even if Pakistan reached the final. Although he would have served outthe four-match ban that he was handed in late September, the ParticipatingNations Agreement (PNA) clearly states that a player who is replaced in a squadcannot be reinstated.Every team that takes part in the Champions Trophy has signed the PNA, andit comes as a bit of a surprise that Younis Khan, now leading Pakistan wasnot aware of this clause, when he said, at a pre-tournament media session,on arriving in India, “It will be really good if we win our first fourgames in the Champions Trophy and then Inzy [Inzamam] comes back and I will be ready to stand down as captain. I will be really happy to see him lift thetrophy while I am standing behind him. He has been one of my heroes rightfrom the 1992 World Cup.”Clause 6.9 of the PNA deals with the issue of replacements, and it says quiteunequivocally that once a player is replaced he cannot be reinstatedlater in the tournament. Inzamam was replaced by Faisal Iqbal after beinghanded the ban by Ranjan Madugalle at a hearing in London in lateSeptember. Inzamam was found guilty of bringing the game into disreputeafter his team forfeited the Oval Test against England. The forfeiturecame after Darrell Hair docked the Pakistan team five runs for ball-tampering and changed the ball that was being used at the time. Pakistanstayed off the field in protest after a break, and the match wasforfeited, despite attempts to get it going. Inzamam was subsequentlycleared of the charge of ball tampering.Younis Khan was then appointed captain in place of Inzamam, refusing to take the job, saying he did not want to be “a dummycaptain”. Mohammad Yousuf was given the job of leading the side, while Younis would continue as an ordinary member of the team. However, after Shaharyar Khan resigned as the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, and Mushtaq Ahmed sacked as assistant coach, Younis was persuaded to take the job back, and he agreed. Perhaps, in all this confusion, he was neverhanded a copy of the PNA to read.

Pedro Collins: all set to sign the contract © Getty Images

Most of the West Indies players invited to the regional training camp ahead of the upcoming three-Test tour to Australia have made themselves available for the tour. has been reliably informed that the majority of the 30-man training squad called up for the tour signed their letters of invitation before yesterday’s 5pm deadline for accepting the invitation of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). This has come amid ongoing negotiations between the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) which began only a few days before yesterday’s deadline.Among the players expected to sign the contracts are fast bowlers Pedro Collins and Fidel Edwards. Over the weekend, a story in the reported that the pair had accepted the invitation for the training camp, and had decided they would sign the match/tour contracts “even if there is no resolution”.Although a source close to the negotiations between the parties was quoted as saying that Collins and Edwards had indicated they had “accepted the invitation and never indicated they would sign the match/tour contracts”, a report from the confirmed they would sign if selected.”I’m not sure who the source is and who’s speaking, but I want to make it clear I stand by the report,” the quoted Collins as saying. “Cricket is important to us as a people. The Caribbean will be on show during World Cup 2007 and we will do all in our power to ensure that West Indies put on a good show. This means preparations have to start from now as we need to field the best team possible.”When contacted yesterday WIPA president Dinanath Ramnarine, although refusing to comment on negotiations between his association and the board, said the players would be making themselves available for the camp.The parties have been at loggerheads since November last year over players’ endorsements and match/tour contracts, which have affected each tour involving West Indies. The worst affected was the recent tour to Sri Lanka, where an under-strength team toured the subcontinent after only three of the 15 players called up by the WICB – including Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain – accepted the invitation.The one-week training camp is due to start on Saturday at the Three W’s Oval at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados. The Australian tour begins on October 27.The 30 invited players
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Daren Ganga, Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Dave Mohammed, Sylvester Joseph, Ryan Hinds, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Devon Smith, Narsingh Deonarine, Carlton Baugh Jr, Omari Banks, Xavier Marshall, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Jermaine Lawson, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw, Deighton Butler, Daren Powell, Dwight Washington, Jerome Taylor.